OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Decreases Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora trimmed its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora owned 0.06% of Badger Meter worth $2,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC lifted 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 worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 8,666.7% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 526 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, 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 90 days, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded up $18.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $171.93. 222,201 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 173,141. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.02 and a fifty-two week high of $174.88. The firm has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 54.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.37.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $182.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.24 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 34.39%.

About Badger Meter

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.