Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Purchases 10,890 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 222,420 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,890 shares during the quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. owned about 0.76% of Badger Meter worth $47,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth $230,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 8.1% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 12.8% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 3,497 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 7.5% during the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 18,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,997,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 3,794 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group upped their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.75.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total value of $508,157.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Down 4.4 %

BMI opened at $197.42 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.87 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $212.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 46.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

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.