Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $920,000 Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 70.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,308 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 10,085 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $814,939,000 after purchasing an additional 44,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $169,448,000 after acquiring an additional 17,873 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $106,261,000 after acquiring an additional 7,719 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 4.1% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI traded up $1.40 on Friday, reaching $230.66. 114,964 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 202,861. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $200.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.42. The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The company had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 29.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report 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. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.