Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 74.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders 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 BMI opened at $172.82 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $205.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.92. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Maxim Group upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.