Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $32.13 Million Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $32,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 4.5% during the 3rd 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. Burney Co. acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. Geneva Partners LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,120,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in 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 worth $7,083,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $210.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $215.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.87 and a 1-year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Maxim Group boosted 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 boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.75.

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.