Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 5,353 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Badger Meter worth $32,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $77,034,000 after buying an additional 68,137 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $7,083,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $1,615,000. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $369,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group boosted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:BMI traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $207.44. The company had a trading volume of 205,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,614. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.04, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.87 and a 1 year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 32.15%.

Badger Meter 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.