Two Sigma Advisers LP Makes New $318,000 Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $814,939,000 after purchasing an additional 44,839 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $169,448,000 after acquiring an additional 17,873 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded down $1.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $246.42. 215,571 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 210,942. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $219.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.12. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The stock has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.26, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.85.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 29.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $229.80.

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.