Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,553 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 8,624 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.26% of Badger Meter worth $11,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 8,666.7% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 526 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BMI shares. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.0 %

BMI opened at $176.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.27, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.66 and a 52-week high of $181.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.56.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The company’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.39%.

Badger Meter 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.