First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Buys Shares of 1,313 Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,313 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Badger Meter by 5,897.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $49,917,000 after purchasing an additional 231,398 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 21,179.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,779,000 after buying an additional 166,255 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 184.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $54,350,000 after buying an additional 166,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $20,586,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $229.80.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of BMI stock traded down $2.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $242.41. 165,205 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 211,845. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $226.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.04. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.31, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.85.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.