Vestcor Inc Boosts Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 175.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,383 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 3,427 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth about $589,000. River Street Advisors LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its position in Badger Meter by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 2,943 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,495 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BMI. Maxim Group increased their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.75.

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE BMI traded up $5.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.04. 241,242 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 219,253. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $211.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.76, a P/E/G 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%. Equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.