Wells Fargo & Company MN Grows Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,036 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.20% of Badger Meter worth $12,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $814,939,000 after acquiring an additional 44,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $94,547,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,884,000 after purchasing an additional 17,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. lifted 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 worth $77,034,000 after buying an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BMI. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $185.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $199.69 and its 200 day moving average is $210.64. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.50 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 32.15%.

Badger Meter 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.