Voloridge Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 40.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,811 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 11,414 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Badger Meter worth $3,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $814,939,000 after purchasing an additional 44,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $91,884,000 after purchasing an additional 17,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.
Badger Meter Trading Up 0.1%
Shares of NYSE:BMI traded up $0.22 on Friday, hitting $248.70. The company had a trading volume of 338,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,646. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $250.41. The stock has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $213.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.85.
Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Badger Meter Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.96%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter
In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company'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 $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,533 shares of company stock worth $3,890,249 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BMI. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus set a $240.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.80.
Check Out Our Latest Report on BMI
Badger Meter Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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