Kenneth Bockhorst Sells 1,165 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Stock

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $210.22 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.87 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $213.36 and a 200-day moving average of $213.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 162.5% during the 4th 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. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.