IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 5,877.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 538 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Badger Meter by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,884,000 after buying an additional 17,060 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,547,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $354,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Badger Meter by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 135,696 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $28,784,000 after buying an additional 6,980 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $188.30 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $238.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.07. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $256.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.40.

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.