Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS lessened its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,986 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,270 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $94,547,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,884,000 after purchasing an additional 17,060 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 68,137 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of BMI opened at $195.91 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $151.18 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.39. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 46.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 0.69%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.