Invesco Ltd. Purchases 7,719 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,719 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.70% of Badger Meter worth $106,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 5,897.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $49,917,000 after buying an additional 231,398 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Badger Meter by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $77,034,000 after buying an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $10,462,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Trading Up 9.8 %

NYSE:BMI traded up $17.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $201.86. 634,981 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,502. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $239.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.34.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. The company had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Maxim Group increased their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $222.60.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade 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 at the SEC website. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.