Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) is Farrow Financial Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Farrow Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,022 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 727 shares during the quarter. Badger Meter makes up 2.6% of Farrow Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Farrow Financial Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $4,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Burney Co. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 29.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $369,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,462,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.7 %

BMI stock opened at $212.68 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.87 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $213.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.96. The stock has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.28, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share 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 research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

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.