Cwm LLC Decreases Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Cwm LLC lessened its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 438 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $68,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,585,000 after purchasing an additional 126,707 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,934 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 233,660 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,617,000 after purchasing an additional 58,941 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BMI. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.80.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $194.29 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $165.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.10. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $194.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.99, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

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.