CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Sells 74 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 611 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 44,932 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $9,531,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 74.4% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 5,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 135,696 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $28,784,000 after purchasing an additional 6,980 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 5,897.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,917,000 after purchasing an additional 231,398 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $354,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $172.73 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $204.93 and a 200 day moving average of $212.59. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.18 and a 1-year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter 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 $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.