Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) CEO Sells $247,131.45 in Stock

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 351,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,616. The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 49.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.87. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.87 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. Maxim Group increased their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 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.