Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 15,703 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 249,363 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,703 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.85% of Badger Meter worth $38,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 851.3% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $21,585,000 after buying an additional 126,707 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 8.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,024,305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $147,367,000 after buying an additional 80,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 333.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $9,417,000 after buying an additional 46,924 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 355.1% in the third quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 57,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,316,000 after buying an additional 45,100 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 90.2% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,832 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $12,636,000 after buying an additional 41,644 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Badger Meter news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI traded up $1.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $191.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 328,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,204. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $164.56 and a 200-day moving average of $154.44. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $194.61.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised Badger Meter from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group upped their target price on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.80.

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.