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

Ellenbecker Investment Group reduced its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $206.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $219.14 and a 200 day moving average of $209.06. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.50 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79.

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 business had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 33.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.00.

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.