Zions Bancorporation N.A. Has $1.91 Million Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 40.9% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $220.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.43, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.62. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.50 and a 52 week high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results 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 for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 33.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. The trade was a 22.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Company 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.