31,500 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 31,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,682,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 261.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BMI. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.75.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE BMI opened at $195.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.33, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $209.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.80. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.18 and a 12-month high of $239.11.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Badger Meter Company 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.