Cresset Asset Management LLC Has $528,000 Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Cresset Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 42.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,490 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 1,827 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 162.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of BMI traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $245.05. The company had a trading volume of 206,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,331. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.93, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $203.96 and a 200-day moving average of $211.80. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $249.65.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter 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.