Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $5.54 Million Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 36.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 15,002 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Badger Meter worth $5,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $74,322,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $369,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $198.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 46.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.18 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.94.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.