Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $2.07 Million Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BMI. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $207.44 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.87 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $214.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.43. The company has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 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%. Analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

About Badger Meter

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.