Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Lowers Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,109 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $10,462,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 348.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,034,000 after buying an additional 42,806 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,285,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $16,890,000 after acquiring an additional 21,799 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 6.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $73,866,000 after acquiring an additional 19,848 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of BMI opened at $221.37 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.50 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $217.41 and a 200 day moving average of $211.69. The company has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.75.

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.