Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Decreases Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,325 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $15,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 333.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $9,417,000 after acquiring an additional 46,924 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 8,666.7% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 526 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Argus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.20.

Badger Meter Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded up $4.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $206.29. The stock had a trading volume of 115,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,468. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 59.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $206.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.57.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The company had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.