Millstone Evans Group LLC Makes New Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,490 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 35.0% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 8,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,754,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 3.8% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 45,496 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $9,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 29.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 41,102 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,977,000 after purchasing an additional 9,339 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 81.3% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 10,041 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 6.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $73,866,000 after purchasing an additional 19,848 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BMI. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $189.36 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year high of $239.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $210.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 44.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.