1,615 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Acquired by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 162.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.80.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded up $3.22 on Thursday, reaching $229.09. 174,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 203,287. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 54.16, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $199.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.98.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

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.