Northstar Asset Management Inc. Purchases 166 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Northstar Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Badger Meter accounts for approximately 1.6% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Northstar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $5,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at about $65,448,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at about $44,715,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 25.9% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $120,027,000 after purchasing an additional 129,945 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 1,451.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 134,715 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,630,000 after purchasing an additional 126,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 1,239.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 128,961 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $24,535,000 after purchasing an additional 119,333 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.5%

Badger Meter stock opened at $187.55 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $256.08. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.66.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 15.40%.The firm had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.33.

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.