Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,869 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 3,233 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $5,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 40.9% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of BMI opened at $202.72 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $210.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.01. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.03 and a 52-week high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

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.