Erste Asset Management GmbH Boosts Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 31.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,970 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,693 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.11% of Badger Meter worth $6,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $77,034,000 after acquiring an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $10,462,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 348.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $12,034,000 after acquiring an additional 42,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $7,494,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter 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 $240,571.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the subject of several research reports. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $218.75.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:BMI traded down $2.78 on Tuesday, reaching $196.96. 190,846 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,437. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $211.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

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.