New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Invests $354,000 in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,671 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 44,839 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,547,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,884,000 after acquiring an additional 17,060 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,034,000 after acquiring an additional 68,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $74,322,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.4 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $192.84 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.18 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $207.52 and a 200-day moving average of $213.51.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Maxim Group increased their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.20.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value 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 $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total value of $508,157.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.