Zacks Investment Management Has $3.57 Million Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,490 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $11,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Seeds Investor LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 101.9% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 31,624 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,708,000 after acquiring an additional 15,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 162.5% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.60.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 9.8 %

BMI stock opened at $201.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 47.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $198.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.34. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $239.11.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 0.67%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

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.