Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Teton Advisors Inc.

Teton Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Teton Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $926,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMI. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,080 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 363,243 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $52,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 2,924 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $30,952.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock traded up $4.76 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $187.28. 239,910 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,402. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.96 and a 12 month high of $188.13. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.61, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $162.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.24.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors 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 0.58%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BMI. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.80.

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.