Janus Henderson Group PLC Buys 2,642 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,827 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,642 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.11% of Badger Meter worth $6,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $74,322,000 after acquiring an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 68.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $369,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 5,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. The trade was a 14.54% 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 worth $4,398,407. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.0%

BMI traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $243.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,542. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.61, 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 $249.65. The stock's 50-day moving average is $208.64 and its 200-day moving average is $213.16.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The company had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

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.