Norges Bank Buys Shares of 445,723 Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 445,723 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,547,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 261.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $192.84 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 45.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.51.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued 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 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%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

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.