Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,596 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,657 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.19% of Badger Meter worth $11,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $74,322,000 after buying an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 29.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $193.18 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.18 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $209.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.51.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.15%.

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.