Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 250 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 8.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,342 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $594,570,000 after buying an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 15.1% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth about $4,369,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,540 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 4.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $215.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.43, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.50 and a 1-year high of $230.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $213.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.96.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 33.75%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The trade was a 22.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Maxim Group increased their target price 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 boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.75.

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.