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

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 approximately 0.50% of Badger Meter worth $31,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 5.0% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $216.00.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of BMI traded up $3.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $220.00. The company had a trading volume of 68,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,218. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.50 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $216.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.27. The stock has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

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.