Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,998 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.13% of Badger Meter worth $8,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 51.7% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,723 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 636.4% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 348.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 42,806 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.7 %

BMI stock opened at $183.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.38, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.50 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $201.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.07.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Maxim Group increased their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.