Curi RMB Capital LLC Purchases 1,336 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 45,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $9,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 315,375 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $66,897,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 41,462 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 16,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,490 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $11,984,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $201.86 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $198.55 and its 200-day moving average is $210.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 47.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $239.11.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders 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 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.60.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,986,475.67. The trade was a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter 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.