Sei Investments Co. Sells 6,188 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Sei Investments Co. reduced its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,227 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,188 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,034,000 after acquiring an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $74,322,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 335,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $71,083,000 after purchasing an additional 23,606 shares in the last quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 222,420 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $47,180,000 after purchasing an additional 10,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Badger Meter by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 212,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,631 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the 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 owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $195.91 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $207.07 and a 200 day moving average of $213.39. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.18 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.31, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. On average, research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given 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 $225.20.

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.