Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 6,657 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,596 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 6,657 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.19% of Badger Meter worth $11,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded up $1.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $191.51. 43,142 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 194,218. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.62. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.18 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

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Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 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, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.