Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) VP Fred Begale Sells 2,064 Shares

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP Fred Begale sold 2,064 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $309,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,000. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE BMI traded down $2.31 on Thursday, hitting $146.80. 19,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,232. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.14 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $162.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.25.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $220.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.30 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 20.71%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BMI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $232.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $136.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.88.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,979,893 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $694,133,000 after purchasing an additional 19,585 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Badger Meter by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $358,315,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 970,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $173,262,000 after acquiring an additional 168,053 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $152,951,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 754,402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $131,592,000 after purchasing an additional 212,448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.