Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Bought by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 5,955 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $6,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $583,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 4,481 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 58,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927 shares in the last quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 222,420 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $47,180,000 after buying an additional 10,890 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 31,970 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $6,891,000 after buying an additional 7,693 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $202.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.76, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $211.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.75. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BMI. Maxim Group upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Badger Meter

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.