Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Purchases Shares of 5,409 Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,409 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,614,269 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $519,985,000 after acquiring an additional 27,763 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,024,305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $147,367,000 after buying an additional 80,979 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,359,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 288,004 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,459,000 after buying an additional 4,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 251,383 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,806,000 after buying an additional 2,233 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $200.64. The company had a trading volume of 125,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,857. The firm has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.82. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.06 and a 12-month high of $202.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.96.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 31.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BMI. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.80.

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.