Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,542 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $594,570,000 after acquiring an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $61,380,000 after buying an additional 100,304 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,127,000 after buying an additional 74,578 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,359,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 288,004 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,459,000 after buying an additional 4,766 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.20.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded up $4.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $192.30. 114,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,565. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.29. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $210.29.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.