Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,666 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,585,000 after buying an additional 126,707 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 8.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,024,305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $147,367,000 after buying an additional 80,979 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 33.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 233,660 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,617,000 after buying an additional 58,941 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 333.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $9,417,000 after acquiring an additional 46,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 355.1% in the 3rd quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 57,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,316,000 after acquiring an additional 45,100 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $191.74. The company had a trading volume of 16,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,222. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.27, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.82. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $194.61.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.80.

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.