California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 12,384 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 79.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 12,384 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,614,269 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $519,985,000 after acquiring an additional 27,763 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,024,305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $147,367,000 after purchasing an additional 80,979 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 6.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 283,238 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,749,000 after buying an additional 17,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 251,383 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,806,000 after buying an additional 2,233 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group upped their target price on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. 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.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.80.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of BMI opened at $189.00 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $163.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.07. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.47, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.06 and a 52 week high of $190.39.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.