Bridge City Capital LLC Grows Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Bridge City Capital LLC raised its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the quarter. Badger Meter makes up approximately 1.6% of Bridge City Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Bridge City Capital LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $5,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 261.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Stock Down 3.7 %

NYSE BMI opened at $189.36 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $151.18 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $210.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 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 research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given 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 0.72%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.