HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 632 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,944 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 261.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.9 %

BMI opened at $195.97 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $209.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.80. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.18 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.33, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

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 return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research 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, Badger Meter has an average 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.