Needham Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Needham Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,650 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,950 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Badger Meter worth $3,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 162.5% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $245.05. 206,130 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 206,036. The company's 50 day moving average price is $203.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.75. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 57.93, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $249.65.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BMI shares. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Maxim Group increased their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $229.80.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 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 value of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.