Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 6,030 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 243,360 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 6,030 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.83% of Badger Meter worth $53,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $202.03. The company had a trading volume of 144,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,351. The business's 50 day moving average price is $210.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.61. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.37 and a 1-year high of $230.76. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 58.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BMI shares. Argus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.75.

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.