Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Stake Cut by Axiom Investors LLC DE

Axiom Investors LLC DE cut its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,993 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,314 shares during the quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned approximately 0.25% of Badger Meter worth $15,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its position in Badger Meter by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Badger Meter by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,272,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,986,475.67. This represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $189.86 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.18 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $208.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.72. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.88, a PEG 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

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.