Bridge City Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Bridge City Capital LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares during the quarter. Badger Meter accounts for 1.6% of Bridge City Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Bridge City Capital LLC owned 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $5,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $189.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.77, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $210.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.62. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.18 and a 12-month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’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 value of $31,395.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BMI. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a 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 stock currently has a consensus 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.