Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,585,000 after buying an additional 126,707 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,934 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,429,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 233,660 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,617,000 after buying an additional 58,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of BMI opened at $185.52 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 53.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.75 and a 52-week high of $187.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.38.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.12%.

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.