Bridge City Capital LLC Purchases 2,167 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the period. Badger Meter comprises 1.6% of Bridge City Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bridge City Capital LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $5,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $74,322,000 after acquiring an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Badger Meter by 29.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,615,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $369,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This represents a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of 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 lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.4 %

Badger Meter stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $193.18. 293,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 184,831. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.18 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $209.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.51.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 32.15%.

Badger Meter 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.