Robeco Schweiz AG Buys Shares of 35,327 Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 35,327 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,494,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMI. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake 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 period. Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 68.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $7,083,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Partners LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,120,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Badger Meter by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI opened at $208.18 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $214.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.43. The company has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.87 and a 1-year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.