Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors Has $270,000 Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors’ holdings in Badger Meter were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,586,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,698 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $74,322,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.7 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $212.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.87 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $213.09 and a 200-day moving average of $213.96.

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, 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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 price objective 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, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.