Needham Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Needham Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 28.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,650 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,950 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Badger Meter worth $3,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its position in Badger Meter by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Badger Meter by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Badger Meter by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,221 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 price target on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.80.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $235.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $240.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $201.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.72.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.