Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,927 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Badger Meter worth $12,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,034,000 after buying an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $10,462,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 348.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $7,494,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $196.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $211.40 and its 200 day moving average is $213.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.18 and a 1 year high of $239.11.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.15%.

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.