Northern Trust Corp Acquires 27,797 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348,476 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,797 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.18% of Badger Meter worth $73,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,706,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $2,799,000. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,368 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 184.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $54,350,000 after acquiring an additional 166,191 shares during the period. Finally, Massar Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $918,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 5,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of BMI traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.66. 114,964 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 202,861. The company's fifty day moving average price is $200.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.49. The company has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.59%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 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.