Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $568,000 Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,988 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 21,179.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $31,779,000 after buying an additional 166,255 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 184.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $54,350,000 after acquiring an additional 166,191 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $20,586,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 182,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,687,000 after purchasing an additional 95,966 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $19,270,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BMI shares. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.40.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $188.75. 238,076 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 511,893. The company has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50-day moving average is $228.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.57. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $256.08.

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

Badger Meter 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.