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

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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’ holdings in Badger Meter were worth $4,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 35.0% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 8,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 10,041 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,866,000 after purchasing an additional 19,848 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 67.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 37,976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,294,000 after buying an additional 15,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in Badger Meter by 8.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,544 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Maxim Group increased their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $194.16 on Tuesday. The business 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 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 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 $31,395.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Corporate 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.