Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 5,353 Shares of 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 fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,353 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.52% of Badger Meter worth $32,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Badger Meter by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,034,000 after acquiring an additional 68,137 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $10,462,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 348.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,034,000 after buying an additional 42,806 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter worth $5,285,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 39.3% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,890,000 after buying an additional 21,799 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $210.14 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.87 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The company’s fifty day moving average is $215.39 and its 200-day moving average is $212.88. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 49.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. On average, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.