4,995 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Bought by Michael J. Porro & Co. Financial Advisors Inc.

Michael J. Porro & Co. Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 4,995 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $617,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the first quarter worth about $1,447,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth about $68,344,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth about $725,926,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,298,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 66.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 20,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,773,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Edward Callahan acquired 751 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,979.25. The trade was a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BMI. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $111.00 target price (down from $112.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.88.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $127.36 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.09 and a 12 month high of $204.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $130.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.64.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.59 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.12%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of flow measurement, control and communications solutions. The company primarily serves the water industry, providing technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, manage and monitor the use and movement of water.

Its products include ultrasonic, electromagnetic and mechanical water meters, as well as flow instrumentation and related control equipment. Badger Meter also offers advanced metering infrastructure and remote monitoring solutions, including its ORION and BEACON platforms, which support automated meter reading, data collection, leak detection and utility management.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves municipal water utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and other water-related markets in North America and internationally.