CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Has $131,000 Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 611 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 5,897.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $49,917,000 after purchasing an additional 231,398 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,034,000 after purchasing an additional 68,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,462,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group upped their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $172.73 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.18 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $204.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.59.

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 for the quarter, beating 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%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 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 transaction of $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Company 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.