Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 6,657 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,596 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,657 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $11,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $814,939,000 after buying an additional 44,839 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $94,547,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $91,884,000 after acquiring an additional 17,060 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,034,000 after acquiring an additional 68,137 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $193.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.67, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.51. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.18 and a twelve month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business’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 $247,131.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Company 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.