Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP Karen M. Bauer Sells 1,147 Shares

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $212.68 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.87 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $213.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.02.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on 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 price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.