11,080 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Bought by Zions Bancorporation National Association UT

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT has entered a new position in Badger Meter, acquiring 11,080 shares valued at approximately $2,108,000.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their stakes in Badger Meter, with Bessemer Group Inc. increasing its stake by 162.5% in the last quarter.
• Badger Meter reported $1.17 EPS in its latest quarterly earnings, slightly missing analysts' consensus estimates while experiencing a 9.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,080 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $2,108,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BMI. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter worth approximately $65,448,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 21,179.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $31,779,000 after acquiring an additional 166,255 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 184.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,586,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 182,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,687,000 after purchasing an additional 95,966 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Argus set a $240.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.40.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE BMI traded up $3.59 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $192.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 206,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,038. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 41.93, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $227.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.41. 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 posted 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). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Badger Meter's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter's payout ratio is presently 29.63%.

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.