DnB Asset Management AS Sells 1,270 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 3.6% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 13,526 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $369,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total value of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $195.91 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.18 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.39. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.31, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BMI. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Maxim Group lifted 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.20.

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.