Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $2.25 Million Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,609 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 901 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 261.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.9 %

BMI stock opened at $195.97 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $209.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.80. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % 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 owned by insiders.

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.