Farther Finance Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 67.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 737 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Badger Meter Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:BMI opened at $196.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 46.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $210.79 and a 200-day moving average of $213.63. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.18 and a 52 week high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its 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 return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. As a group, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business’s 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 $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. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.