Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Position Increased by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMI. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 434.2% during the first quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 372,468 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,372,000 after acquiring an additional 302,742 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $30,460,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 10.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,070,197 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $167,458,000 after acquiring an additional 198,228 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 129.1% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 250,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $20,254,000 after acquiring an additional 141,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,585,000 after acquiring an additional 126,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Badger Meter news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BMI. Maxim Group upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $176.78 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.66 and a twelve month high of $181.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.95, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $157.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.92.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

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.