William R. A. Bergum Sells 2,416 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Stock

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $210.22 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.87 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.84. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.70, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

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.