Carderock Capital Management Inc. Sells 4,482 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Carderock Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 24.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,010 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 4,482 shares during the quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $83,548,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,435,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 99.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 401,668 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $72,203,000 after purchasing an additional 200,330 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 3,540.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 192,031 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,293,000 after purchasing an additional 186,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 95.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 376,697 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $67,271,000 after purchasing an additional 183,755 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. Barclays set a $136.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Badger Meter from $232.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.01, for a total transaction of $243,482.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,176.56. The trade was a 33.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst bought 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $152.42 per share, with a total value of $502,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,098,781.46. The trade was a 8.99% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,989 shares of company stock valued at $596,002. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $154.18 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.14 and a 1 year high of $256.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.82.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $220.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.30 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.