Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Invests $1.62 Million in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 7,615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,615,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $155,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $210.14 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.87 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $215.39 and a 200-day moving average of $213.05.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.75.

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.