Aquatic Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,008 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 1,592 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $4,706,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $2,799,000. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,368 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Badger Meter by 184.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $54,350,000 after purchasing an additional 166,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massar Capital Management LP bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $918,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.80.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the business'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 value of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. The trade was a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $225.81. The stock had a trading volume of 170,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,062. The firm has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 53.38, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $199.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.87. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.96%.

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.