New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Makes New $354,000 Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,671 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 20.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,549,000 after buying an additional 6,732 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,356 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,285,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at about $371,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $192.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.59, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.18 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $207.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.51.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.71%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of 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 upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Four 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, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.20.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total value of $508,157.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.