Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,094 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 6,283 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.15% of Badger Meter worth $9,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BMI. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $8,549,000 after buying an additional 6,732 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 41.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,356 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 29.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Badger Meter by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,723 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $186.10. 56,015 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,852. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.52 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $199.69 and a 200-day moving average of $210.64.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total value of $508,157.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last 90 days. 0.90% 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.