Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Invests $404,000 in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,903 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 5,897.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $49,917,000 after acquiring an additional 231,398 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,034,000 after acquiring an additional 68,137 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,462,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,986,475.67. The trade was a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % 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 valued at $4,398,407 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 8.2 %

BMI opened at $184.75 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.18 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 43.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $202.39 and its 200-day moving average is $211.54.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

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.