Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $3.02 Million Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,249 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 1,496 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $77,034,000 after purchasing an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $10,462,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 348.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $12,034,000 after buying an additional 42,806 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,285,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 335,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $71,083,000 after purchasing an additional 23,606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE BMI traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $209.83. The company had a trading volume of 263,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,546. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $213.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.74. The company has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 49.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.87 and a twelve month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.