Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $767,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew 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 worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $210.14 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $215.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.87 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 49.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid 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 is presently 32.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently 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.