Norway Savings Bank Boosts Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Norway Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 145.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,458 shares during the quarter. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 805 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Maxim Group raised their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $2.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $210.67. The company had a trading volume of 94,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,074. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.50 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 52.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.19.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.75%.

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.