Wealth Alliance Makes New Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Wealth Alliance bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,324 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter worth $35,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 8,666.7% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 526 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $176.68 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $157.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.56. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.66 and a 1-year high of $181.00. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.27, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 34.39%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.