Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Stock Position Raised by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,540 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on BMI shares. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE BMI opened at $182.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.18 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $201.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.29.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.