Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,291 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 7,079 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.43% of Badger Meter worth $26,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. CWM LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 72.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 992 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Badger Meter by 23.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 4.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at $289,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI traded down $8.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $210.14. 265,787 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 212,744. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $215.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.05. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.87 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.68, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Maxim Group increased their target price on 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 price target on shares of 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.75.

Badger Meter Company 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.