D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 86,573 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 50.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 86,573 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.29% of Badger Meter worth $18,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 5,897.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $49,917,000 after buying an additional 231,398 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 184.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $54,350,000 after acquiring an additional 166,191 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,586,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 182,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,687,000 after acquiring an additional 95,966 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.9%

BMI stock opened at $235.18 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $240.85. The firm has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.60, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $201.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $222.21 million for 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BMI. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Maxim Group increased their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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