Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP Sells $508,157.28 in Stock

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.1 %

Badger Meter stock traded down $0.15 on Tuesday, hitting $209.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 160,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,287. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $150.87 and a one year high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $213.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.80.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued 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 0.65%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BMI. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 4.5% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Partners LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,120,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Badger Meter by 29.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.