Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 15,002 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Badger Meter worth $5,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 261.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $198.87. The company had a trading volume of 11,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,930. The company's fifty day moving average is $211.40 and its 200 day moving average is $213.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.18 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 47.16, 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Equities 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BMI. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.