Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,733 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.08% of Badger Meter worth $4,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $74,322,000 after acquiring an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $194.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.90, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 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%. Equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business’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 $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Company 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.