DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Buys 126,707 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 851.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 126,707 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.48% of Badger Meter worth $21,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 8,666.7% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 526 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BMI. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $147.50.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $157.81. The stock had a trading volume of 84,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,825. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.18 and a 1-year high of $170.86. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $155.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.26, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.86.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $182.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.24 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is 34.39%.

Badger Meter 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.