Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by OLD Second National Bank of Aurora

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lessened its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,446 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 854 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Badger Meter by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $208.80 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $139.50 and a one year high of $239.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $217.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.01. The stock has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.81, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.79.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 33.75%.

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.