Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI – Get Rating) by 868.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 99,606 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 89,320 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $11,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 5,823 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,258 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,685 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 41,497 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 86.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.73, for a total value of $46,096.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $342,786.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.88, for a total value of $195,825.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,443.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.73, for a total transaction of $46,096.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $342,786.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $138.40 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.20 and a 1-year high of $143.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.72 and a beta of 0.88.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.11. Badger Meter had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 16.45%. The firm had revenue of $159.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 26th will be issued a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 25th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 36.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $130.00 to $151.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.40.

Badger Meter Profile

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Badger Meter, Inc engages in the provision of flow measurement, control products, and communications solutions that serve water utilities, municipalities, and commercial and industrial customers worldwide. Its products are classified into two categories: Municipal Water and Flow Instrumentation. Municipal water products include water meters and related technologies to municipal water utilities.