22,879 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Purchased by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 22,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,853,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMI. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 261.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $197.42 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.98. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.87 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 46.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) 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 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 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 transaction of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.75.

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.