GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires New Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,259 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,381,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $169,448,000 after buying an additional 17,873 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,547,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $91,884,000 after purchasing an additional 17,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 398,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $75,831,000 after purchasing an additional 35,424 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BMI. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.40.

Badger Meter Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of BMI traded down $7.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $181.15. The company had a trading volume of 554,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,828. The stock has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Badger Meter

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.