950 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Purchased by ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C.

ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $594,570,000 after buying an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,160 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 14.3% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 278,606 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,081,000 after purchasing an additional 34,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,359 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $25,948,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BMI stock traded down $0.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $225.90. 17,810 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 173,197. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $206.31 and its 200 day moving average is $192.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.18, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 35.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.