Umpqua Bank Sells 562 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Umpqua Bank reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,845 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 562 shares during the quarter. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $659,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $316,000. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,105,000 after acquiring an additional 18,742 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,064,000 after acquiring an additional 5,955 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $189.36 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $210.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.51. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.77, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.18 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter 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.