Cynosure Group LLC Has $563,000 Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Cynosure Group LLC decreased its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,655 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 677 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 261.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $195.91 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.39. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.18 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 46.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. On average, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BMI. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.20.

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.