Hantz Financial Services Inc. Grows Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Hantz Financial Services dramatically increased its Badger Meter stake in Q4, boosting holdings by 15,880.4% to 8,949 shares valued at about $1.56 million.
• Institutional ownership in Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) remains very high at 89.01%, with several large funds such as Vanguard, State Street, Invesco, Pictet, and UBS also adding shares.
• Badger Meter reported quarterly EPS of $1.14 and revenue of $220.71 million, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold with an average price target of $155.86.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 15,880.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,949 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,893 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,979,893 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $694,133,000 after buying an additional 19,585 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $358,315,000 after buying an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 970,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $173,262,000 after buying an additional 168,053 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 754,402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $131,592,000 after buying an additional 212,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 712,650 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $124,293,000 after acquiring an additional 335,953 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of BMI stock opened at $125.47 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.27. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.09 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.68.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 14.56%.The business had revenue of $220.71 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on BMI. Barclays set a $110.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Badger Meter from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 2,064 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $309,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,000. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Htwe acquired 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $116.13 per share, for a total transaction of $197,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at $882,936.39. This trade represents a 28.80% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders purchased 6,628 shares of company stock worth $777,128 and sold 3,989 shares worth $596,002. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter 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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