Edgestream Partners L.P. Increases Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,451 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,649 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned 0.08% of Badger Meter worth $4,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BMI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% during the fourth 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 period. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $10,462,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 348.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,034,000 after acquiring an additional 42,806 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $7,494,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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 boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $212.68 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $213.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.87. The company has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.28, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.87 and a 12 month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

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.