Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by EntryPoint Capital LLC

EntryPoint Capital LLC decreased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 45.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 960 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 785 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 261.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $189.86 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $208.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.62. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.18 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 44.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the 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 owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.20.

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.