Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) VP Christina Tarantino Acquires 870 Shares

Key Points

• Christina Tarantino, VP of Badger Meter, bought 870 shares on April 21 at an average price of $113.80, raising her ownership to 1,801 shares (a 93.45% increase) as disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Several senior insiders—including CEO Kenneth Bockhorst (2,200 shares)—also purchased stock the same day, signaling management confidence and a potential near‑term positive catalyst for sentiment.
• Despite insider buying, Badger Meter's recent Q1 results and revised guidance prompted analysts to cut forecasts and price targets and have spurred investor‑loss litigation, creating downside risk; the consensus analyst rating is Hold with a $166.38 target.

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) VP Christina Tarantino acquired 870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $113.80 per share, with a total value of $99,006.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,953.80. This trade represents a 93.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock traded up $1.62 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.51. The company had a trading volume of 536,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,357. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.09 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $151.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.56% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $220.71 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Key Stories Impacting Badger Meter

Here are the key news stories impacting Badger Meter this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Senior insiders made sizeable purchases on April 21 (CEO Kenneth Bockhorst 2,200 shares at ~$117.53; multiple VPs also bought hundreds–1,700 shares), a strong signal of management confidence and a near‑term positive catalyst for sentiment. SEC Filing - CEO Purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Aggregate insider activity shows meaningful increases in executive stakes (several VPs increased holdings), reinforcing the view that management expects value at current levels. SEC Filing - VP Tarantino
• Neutral Sentiment: Badger reported Q1 results showing adjusted EPS of $0.93 and revenue ~$202.3M; management says the shortfall was driven mainly by project timing — relevant for near‑term guidance but not necessarily a structural change. Earnings Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Badger pays a modest dividend and institutions remain large holders ( Vanguard, State Street, Invesco ), which can provide stability even amid headline volatility. MarketBeat - Holdings & Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: The Q1 miss prompted analysts to lower models and price targets (reports from RBC, Stifel, Robert W. Baird and others), creating downward pressure as expectations are reset. Benzinga: Analysts Slash Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Investor‑loss litigation alerts (Pomerantz LLP and others) are active, introducing legal headline risk that can amplify volatility and weigh on sentiment while investigations proceed. GlobeNewswire: Pomerantz Investigation

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BMI. River Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 12.2% in the first quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 6,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,996,000. Norway Savings Bank lifted its position in Badger Meter by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 3,544 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth approximately $654,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 1.3% in the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 7,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on BMI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $197.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays set a $110.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $166.38.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company's core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company's product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.

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