Bank of America Corp DE Has $25.45 Million Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,963 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 7,158 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.41% of Badger Meter worth $25,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 348.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,034,000 after buying an additional 42,806 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $223,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1,284.9% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,744,000 after acquiring an additional 12,001 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $936,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This represents a 14.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.80.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $245.05 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $249.65. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 57.93, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $203.96 and a 200-day moving average of $211.88.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.96%.

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.