Robeco Schweiz AG Purchases Shares of 73,598 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 73,598 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,143,000. Robeco Schweiz AG owned about 0.25% of Badger Meter at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Badger Meter in the second quarter worth approximately $83,548,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in Badger Meter by 78.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 612,809 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $150,108,000 after acquiring an additional 268,799 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 108.2% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 342,099 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $83,797,000 after purchasing an additional 177,781 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 802,166 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $196,491,000 after acquiring an additional 171,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter worth $27,884,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BMI. Weiss Ratings cut Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Barclays set a $157.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.25.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of BMI opened at $171.11 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.10.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 15.40%.The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.