Congress Asset Management Co. Raises Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,137 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $77,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,462,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 348.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,034,000 after acquiring an additional 42,806 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,285,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 39.3% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $16,890,000 after acquiring an additional 21,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 6.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,866,000 after acquiring an additional 19,848 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $217.01 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.87 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $216.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.32. The company has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 51.30, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter 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.