Insider Selling: Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP Sells 1,147 Shares of Stock

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI traded down $1.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $208.05. 71,758 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 176,716. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.87 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $213.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

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Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $218.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

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.