BNP Paribas Financial Markets Lowers Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,665 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 16,065 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake 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 valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position 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 in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.80.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded down $1.80 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $243.17. 184,232 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 206,243. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.49, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $249.65.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The company had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Badger Meter 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.