UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Sells 3,600 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd decreased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,062 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $5,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 35.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 8,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,866,000 after acquiring an additional 19,848 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 67.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 37,976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,294,000 after acquiring an additional 15,240 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Badger Meter by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,544 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 20.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,549,000 after purchasing an additional 6,732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on BMI. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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 upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.20.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $193.18 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.51. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

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.