Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Acquired by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 101.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,624 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 15,960 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Badger Meter worth $6,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 1.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,723 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 636.4% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 348.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 42,806 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE BMI opened at $183.51 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.50 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $201.04 and a 200 day moving average of $211.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.38, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BMI. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.20.

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.