Avior Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 20.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Maxim Group raised their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $210.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.35, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $214.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.40. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.50 and a 12 month high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio 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.