Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates lowered its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,858 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,040 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,392.9% in the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 698 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,603 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $185,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,614,269 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $519,985,000 after buying an additional 27,763 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $178.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $156.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.37. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.02 and a 1-year high of $179.51.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.50.

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.