BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Makes New $377,000 Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,777 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $377,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $74,322,000 after buying an additional 12,180 shares during the period. Burney Co. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $369,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 5,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded up $3.57 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $220.86. The stock had a trading volume of 370,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,676. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $197.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.62. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.21, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Maxim Group lifted 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.80.

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.