Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP William R. A. Bergum Sells 148 Shares

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $209.55. 160,365 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,287. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.87 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.54, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $213.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.80.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Badger Meter by 5,897.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $49,917,000 after purchasing an additional 231,398 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Badger Meter by 184.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,350,000 after purchasing an additional 166,191 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,586,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 182,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,687,000 after buying an additional 95,966 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.