Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,303 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,458 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $47,359,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 2,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,516 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,476,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 79,280 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,238,000 after purchasing an additional 16,849 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $217.11 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $219.71. The company has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.57, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.29.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.