Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 5,313 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,970 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 5,313 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,157,000 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. Wealth Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Badger Meter by 88.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,362 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,070,000 after buying an additional 12,339 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $21,585,000 after buying an additional 126,707 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,934 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 233,660 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $33,617,000 after purchasing an additional 58,941 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.80.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of BMI stock traded up $0.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $197.21. 132,405 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,971. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $170.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.06 and a twelve month high of $199.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 56.83, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $182.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.12%.

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.