Putney Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 2,678 Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,678 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $568,000. Badger Meter accounts for about 0.4% of Putney Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,221 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $247.61. The company had a trading volume of 143,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,477. The company has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 58.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $250.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $212.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.79.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,533 shares of company stock valued at $3,890,249 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Maxim Group increased their target price 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. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.80.

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.