Axa S.A. Has $12.33 Million Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Axa S.A. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,121 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Axa S.A. owned about 0.20% of Badger Meter worth $12,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 162.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.80.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:BMI opened at $228.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 54.08, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.96%.

Badger Meter 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.