Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,462 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.14% of Badger Meter worth $8,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 16,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,490 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $11,984,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Seeds Investor LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 31,624 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $6,708,000 after acquiring an additional 15,960 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following 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 trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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 lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.40.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $200.54 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 47.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $198.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.94.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $222.21 million during 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 firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. 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.

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