Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI – Get Rating) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Krane Funds Advisors LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 6,929 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 9,190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 60.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 355 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,281 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 4,215 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.42% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $94.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.24 and a beta of 0.86. The business's fifty day moving average price is $90.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.36. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.20 and a fifty-two week high of $112.36.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.225 per share. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 25th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,362 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.40, for a total value of $227,696.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,400.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Badger Meter from $88.00 to $79.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Badger Meter from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 26th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Friday, July 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 9th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Badger Meter from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.67.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, and internationally. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities.

Further Reading

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