Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $31.92 Million Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,133 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 8,786 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Badger Meter worth $31,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BMI. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter worth $204,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BMI shares. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of BMI traded down $1.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $225.02. The stock had a trading volume of 138,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,822. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $139.50 and a one year high of $230.76. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 56.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The business's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 33.75%.

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.