Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 103.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 2,595 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $814,939,000 after acquiring an additional 44,839 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,884,000 after buying an additional 17,060 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.80.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $247.93 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $249.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $201.15 and its 200-day moving average is $210.72. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 58.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. The trade was a 14.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.