Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) CEO Sells $3,371,151.02 in Stock

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 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 transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Kenneth Bockhorst also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 3rd, Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of Badger Meter stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $212.68 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.87 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $213.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.02.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 162.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

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.