Bailard Inc. Increases Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BMI. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 33.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 2.1% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 6,277 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Cavalier Investments LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 3.7% during the third quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 10,882 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 5.6% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,080 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.80.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $185.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.30. The company has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 53.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.75 and a 52-week high of $187.41.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.12%.

About Badger Meter

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.