Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 8,701 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,701 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.31% of Badger Meter worth $19,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Burney Co. bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $7,083,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.2 %

BMI stock opened at $206.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 48.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.87 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $212.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.10.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

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.