Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) CEO Kenneth Bockhorst Sells 1,165 Shares of Stock

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.3 %

BMI opened at $210.22 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.87 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.84. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $814,939,000 after buying an additional 44,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $91,884,000 after buying an additional 17,060 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.