CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Purchases 1,630 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,462 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.14% of Badger Meter worth $8,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $216.35. The company had a trading volume of 152,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,333. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 51.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.56.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 29.96%.

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.