Navellier & Associates Inc. Invests $245,000 in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,156 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,034,000 after buying an additional 68,137 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $10,462,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 348.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 42,806 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at $5,285,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 39.3% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $16,890,000 after purchasing an additional 21,799 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $210.14 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $215.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.23. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.87 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Maxim Group upped their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

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.