Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Pacific Center for Financial Services

Pacific Center for Financial Services lowered its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 673 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services’ holdings in Badger Meter were worth $143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 162.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE BMI opened at $243.46 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $206.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.63. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.17 and a 52-week high of $249.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The company had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

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.