Barclays PLC increased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 348.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,806 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.19% of Badger Meter worth $12,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BMI. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 167 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 61.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 805 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the second quarter worth about $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.
NYSE BMI opened at $226.31 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.50 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 56.16, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $217.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.91.
Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 33.75%.
Several research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $216.00.
Read Our Latest Report on 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.
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