Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 36.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,723 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 3,924 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.05% of Badger Meter worth $3,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $74,322,000 after buying an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $7,083,000 after acquiring an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.40.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded down $1.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $200.54. The company had a trading volume of 428,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,065. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $198.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % 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. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.