Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 1,818 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lowered its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,844 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 1,818 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB owned about 0.13% of Badger Meter worth $8,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 805 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BMI. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.75.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.78. 124,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 212,082. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $147.96 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $217.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.12.

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 return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

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.