Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,343 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $6,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 5,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BMI. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.80.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock traded up $4.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $235.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 202,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,860. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.60, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $242.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.49.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The business had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 29.96%.

Badger Meter Company 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.