Zacks Investment Management Acquires 1,363 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.06% of Badger Meter worth $3,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 231,398 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,586,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,462,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Maxim Group lifted their price objective 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 lowered their price objective on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.40.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI traded up $5.54 on Wednesday, hitting $214.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 227,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,287. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 50.61, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $198.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.93.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.