US Bancorp DE Sells 1,282 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

US Bancorp DE lessened its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,282 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $5,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,034,000 after acquiring an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,462,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 348.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 42,806 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,494,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,285,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Maxim Group lifted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $209.55 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $213.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.87 and a 1 year high of $239.11.

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, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. 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.