Royce & Associates LP Increases Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 66.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,481 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,782 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth 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 bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 261.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of 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 lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.75.

Remove Ads

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.7 %

Badger Meter stock traded down $3.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $192.37. The stock had a trading volume of 179,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,771. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $151.18 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The firm's fifty day moving average is $209.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.80.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the 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 $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business'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 value of $247,131.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.