Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Acquired by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,451 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 3,649 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $4,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 261.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $212.68 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $213.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.28, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.87 and a 1 year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group increased their price objective 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 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.