2,451 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Bought by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,451 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $466,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 18.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Badger Meter by 145.9% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 67,584 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $12,858,000 after acquiring an additional 40,095 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,242 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,618 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 4,177 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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, June 16th. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.60.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of BMI stock traded up $5.26 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $246.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 296,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,550. The company has a 50 day moving average of $243.91 and a 200 day moving average of $219.35. The stock has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 54.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.