Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys New Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,697 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,845,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 348.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $12,034,000 after acquiring an additional 42,806 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 14.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,317 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 63,406 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $13,450,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $385,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business'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 owns 52,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.80.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE BMI traded up $6.65 on Tuesday, hitting $242.10. 316,377 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 203,328. The company has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 57.23, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $201.15 and a 200-day moving average of $210.72. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $242.60.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million for 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 quarter in the prior year, the business 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 declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 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.