Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 5,955 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,955 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $6,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 261.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded up $4.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $194.16. The company had a trading volume of 323,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,160. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.90, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $210.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.75. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year high of $239.11.

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Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 14,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. The trade was a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BMI. Maxim Group boosted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Company 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.