Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Purchases 166,191 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 184.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 166,191 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.87% of Badger Meter worth $54,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 162.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird lowered 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 report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $229.80.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded up $5.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $230.03. 271,314 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,014. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.61. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.