Northstar Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Northstar Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,579 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Badger Meter makes up approximately 1.3% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Northstar Asset Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $4,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 288,004 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,766 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 88.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,362 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after purchasing an additional 12,339 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,585,000 after purchasing an additional 126,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,934 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.80.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of BMI traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $199.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,271. The company has a fifty day moving average of $173.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.16. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.06 and a twelve month high of $202.81. The company has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.82.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.