Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 3,170 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.11% of Badger Meter worth $7,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $77,034,000 after purchasing an additional 68,137 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,462,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 348.5% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,494,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % 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 quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Badger Meter Trading Up 0.4 %

Badger Meter stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $193.18. 293,823 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 184,488. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.65. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.18 and a 12-month 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 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 research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 32.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $225.20.

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.