Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $111.48 Million Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 525,514 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 38,777 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.79% of Badger Meter worth $111,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,316,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,272,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock traded up $5.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $229.67. 81,055 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 203,276. The firm's 50-day moving average is $198.32 and its 200-day moving average is $209.61. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.30, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 29.96%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BMI. Argus set a $240.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.