Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 18,742 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 186.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 18,742 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $6,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 261.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the 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 $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter 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 $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.4 %

BMI stock opened at $196.96 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.18 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 46.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $211.40 and a 200 day moving average of $213.83.

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 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend 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.