Ellenbecker Investment Group Sells 86 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Ellenbecker Investment Group lowered its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,716 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BMI. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Norway Savings Bank raised its position in Badger Meter by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 2,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $394,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 14.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,317 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,126,000 after buying an additional 2,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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, Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $206.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 51.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $219.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.06. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.50 and a 52-week high of $239.11.

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). The company had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 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.