Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by EntryPoint Capital LLC

EntryPoint Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 45.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 960 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 785 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $814,939,000 after acquiring an additional 44,839 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 68,137 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $74,322,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 335,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $71,083,000 after purchasing an additional 23,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 222,420 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $47,180,000 after buying an additional 10,890 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.7 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $189.86 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $208.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.62. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.18 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.88, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. 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 0.72%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

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.