Congress Asset Management Co. Increases Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 2.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 295,027 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,967 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $64,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $204.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,398. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $136.31 and a fifty-two week high of $230.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $210.14 and its 200-day moving average is $197.68. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released 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). The business had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Badger Meter Company 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.