Tower View Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 58.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,851 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,471 shares during the quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC owned 0.05% of Badger Meter worth $2,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 33.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BMI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.80.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $182.55. The company had a trading volume of 224,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,813. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.96 and a 12 month high of $188.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.03.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

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.

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