Zions Bancorporation N.A. Buys 1,712 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,441 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 1,712 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during 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. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 261.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.9 %

BMI stock opened at $195.97 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.18 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.80.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.