Rodgers Brothers Inc. Has $18.78 Million Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. decreased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,509 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 834 shares during the period. Badger Meter accounts for 2.4% of Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Rodgers Brothers Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Badger Meter worth $18,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $74,322,000 after buying an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Badger Meter by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $189.86 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 44.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $208.55 and its 200-day moving average is $213.72. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given 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 payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% 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.