Vest Financial LLC Takes Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC acquired 8,646 shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) in Q4 worth about $1.51 million, and institutional investors now own 89.01% of the company's shares.
• Analysts are mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $155.86 price target after several downgrades and target cuts (e.g., Stifel to $140, Barclays underweight at $110).
• Insiders have been buying recently (11,578 shares bought in the last three months, ~$1.53M) and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share (annualized $1.60, ~1.3% yield).

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,646 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,508,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 521 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Badger Meter by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT raised its position in Badger Meter by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus cut shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Maxim Group cut shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $174.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays set a $110.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.86.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.8%

BMI stock opened at $121.16 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $145.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.96. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.09 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.56% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The firm had revenue of $220.71 million for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christina M. Tarantino bought 870 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $113.80 per share, with a total value of $99,006.00. Following the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Edward F. Callahan bought 858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,785.40. Following the purchase, the vice president directly owned 1,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,931.80. This represents a 261.59% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 11,578 shares of company stock worth $1,531,492 and have sold 3,989 shares worth $596,002. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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