Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Takes $1.14 Million Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,979 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 261.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $242.46. The company had a trading volume of 131,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,830. The company has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $228.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.40. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.74% and a return on equity of 22.35%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.60.

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.