Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 9,526 Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,526 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $2,021,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group boosted 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $218.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI traded up $5.06 on Wednesday, hitting $202.04. 241,240 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 178,806. The business's fifty day moving average is $211.40 and its 200 day moving average is $213.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.18 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE 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 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%. Analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.15%.

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.