Dundas Partners LLP Purchases 200 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Dundas Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Dundas Partners LLP’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its position in Badger Meter by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $212.68 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.96. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.87 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on BMI shares. Maxim Group upped 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 upped 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

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.