22,879 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Bought by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 22,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,853,000. AGF Management Ltd. owned 0.08% of Badger Meter as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $2,021,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $3,082,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Badger Meter by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $19,509,000 after purchasing an additional 8,701 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 15,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,368,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the period. Finally, Dundas Partners LLP raised its position in Badger Meter by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 1,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.75.

Badger Meter Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $197.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 46.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.87 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.98.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. The trade was a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.