Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Stock Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,905 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $16,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 138.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,495 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 18.0% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,376 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 3.7% during the third quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA now owns 18,983 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 44.3% during the third quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 984.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 6.4%

NYSE BMI opened at $157.81 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.09 and a 12-month high of $192.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.64.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $230.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.35 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BMI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Argus raised Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $168.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.33.

Badger Meter Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a water technology company that develops and manufactures flow measurement, control and communications solutions. Its products are used to measure and manage water across municipal, commercial and industrial applications, helping customers improve operational efficiency, monitor usage and support water conservation.

The company’s offerings include mechanical, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters; valves and related flow-control equipment; and smart water technologies.