Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Acquired by Norway Savings Bank

Norway Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 145.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in 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 worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 61.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 805 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter worth about $204,000. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Badger Meter by 636.4% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.00.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.3 %

BMI traded down $2.77 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $210.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 94,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,074. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.28, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.19. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.50 and a 1 year high of $239.11.

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). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

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.