Congress Asset Management Co. Buys 68,137 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,137 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 1.23% of Badger Meter worth $77,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $10,462,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 348.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,034,000 after acquiring an additional 42,806 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at $5,285,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 39.3% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $16,890,000 after acquiring an additional 21,799 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 6.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,866,000 after acquiring an additional 19,848 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $217.01 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.87 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $216.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 51.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share 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, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current 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 $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Maxim Group increased their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.