Ameriprise Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 111.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 95,966 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.62% of Badger Meter worth $38,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 5,897.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $49,917,000 after buying an additional 231,398 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Badger Meter by 184.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $54,350,000 after purchasing an additional 166,191 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $20,586,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Badger Meter by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $77,034,000 after purchasing an additional 68,137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:BMI traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $245.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 206,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,331. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $249.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $203.96 and a 200-day moving average of $211.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 57.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.80.

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.