Select Equity Group L.P. Has $7.14 Million Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 686.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,763 shares during the quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 0.13% of Badger Meter worth $7,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 83.0% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $3.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $177.82. The stock had a trading volume of 315,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 289,675. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $198.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.51. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $256.08.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.86%.

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.