Farther Finance Advisors LLC Sells 1,542 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 67.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 737 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 1,542 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $77,034,000 after buying an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,462,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 348.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $12,034,000 after buying an additional 42,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,494,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. This represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Maxim Group upped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded up $4.67 on Monday, hitting $194.16. The stock had a trading volume of 323,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,160. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $210.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.75. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year high of $239.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.90, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.