Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Decreases Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 lessened its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,218 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 407 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMI. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter worth $91,000. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 168.4% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 714 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,392.9% during the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 698 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 accessible through this link. In related 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 transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.50.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $157.50. 114,194 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,059. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.85. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.07 and a fifty-two week high of $170.86.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $182.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.24 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.39%.

Badger Meter 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.