Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 49.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,295 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 46,653 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Badger Meter worth $10,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $74,322,000 after acquiring an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $312,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 541.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,221 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 3,654 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 368.4% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,422 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 3,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $199.43. 242,901 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,434. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $151.18 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $211.97 and a 200-day moving average of $213.94.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group raised their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.