Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 12,180 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.19% of Badger Meter worth $74,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $218.75.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of BMI traded up $2.98 on Friday, reaching $198.09. 273,998 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,670. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $212.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 46.83, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.87 and a 52-week high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. Analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is 32.15%.

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.