American Capital Management Inc. Invests $28.31 Million in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 185,841 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,000. Badger Meter makes up about 1.5% of American Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,979,893 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $694,133,000 after acquiring an additional 19,585 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $358,315,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 970,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $173,262,000 after purchasing an additional 168,053 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $152,951,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 754,402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $131,592,000 after purchasing an additional 212,448 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.57.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.3%

BMI opened at $127.98 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.09 and a 12-month high of $204.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $134.61 and a 200-day moving average of $143.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.64.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The business had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.