Northstar Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Northstar Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Badger Meter accounts for approximately 1.6% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Northstar Asset Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Badger Meter worth $5,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 83.0% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 170.5% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.33.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:BMI opened at $187.55 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.66.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 15.40%.The business had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 34.04%.

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.