First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,080 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 363,243 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $52,260,000 after buying an additional 2,093 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 224,808 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,343,000 after buying an additional 7,836 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 158.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,069 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $191.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $165.25 and a 200 day moving average of $154.82. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $194.61.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group raised their target price on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. 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, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.80.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.