Cavalier Investments LLC Purchases 759 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Cavalier Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. Cavalier Investments LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $202.03 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.37 and a 1 year high of $230.76. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 58.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $210.07 and its 200 day moving average is $196.91.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Maxim Group boosted 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. Argus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Badger Meter 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.