Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $3.84 Million Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,872 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,741 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Badger Meter worth $3,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 8,666.7% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 526 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $189.00 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $163.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.07. The company has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 54.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.06 and a twelve month high of $190.39.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.80.

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.