Needham Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.3 %

BMI traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $219.97. 19,768 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 179,074. The company’s 50-day moving average is $215.61 and its 200 day moving average is $203.04. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.50 and a 52 week high of $230.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.79.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 33.75%.

About Badger Meter

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.