Bridges Investment Management Inc. Has $3 Million Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,820 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 51.4% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 124.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,558 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 165,002 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,466,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the third quarter worth $66,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Badger Meter from $232.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $191.00 target price (down from $229.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.88.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $151.67 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.49. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.14 and a 52-week high of $256.08. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.01). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $220.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.30 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Badger Meter Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.