Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $5.04 Million Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,523 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,540 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.08% of Badger Meter worth $5,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 31,970 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $6,891,000 after purchasing an additional 7,693 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 175.2% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 5,383 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,427 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 57,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,261,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,944 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $4,853,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group boosted their price target on 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 two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.75.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. The trade was a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % 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 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $198.09 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $211.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.87. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $151.18 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.83, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 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.