Pathstone Holdings LLC Increases Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,160 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 331,769 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $72,462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2.8% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 295,027 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $64,437,000 after purchasing an additional 7,967 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 66.4% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after buying an additional 51,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 47.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,499,000 after buying an additional 40,400 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $216.46 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $215.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.41. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.50 and a 12-month high of $230.76. The firm has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BMI. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

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.