Man Group plc Has $12.13 Million Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Man Group plc reduced its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,192 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 9,533 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.19% of Badger Meter worth $12,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 348.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $12,034,000 after buying an additional 42,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 63,406 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $13,450,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $385,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $223,000. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1,284.9% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,935 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 12,001 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 price target on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.80.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.5%

BMI stock traded down $3.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $243.46. The company had a trading volume of 225,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,041. The company has a 50 day moving average of $206.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.63. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $249.65. The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.56, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 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 firm had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. 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. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Badger Meter

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.