Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 44,839 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,839 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Badger Meter worth $814,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $74,322,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares during the period. Burney Co. bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 68.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Badger Meter by 29.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $369,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $189.86 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.62. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.88, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

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.