First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 1,285 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 315,375 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $66,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $74,322,000 after acquiring an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Badger Meter by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares during the last quarter. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $10,462,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $208.49 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The stock has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.93.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Maxim Group raised their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.40.

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.