Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Grows Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 5,897.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 231,398 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $49,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 261.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Maxim Group increased their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $189.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.88, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.62. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.18 and a 1 year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Badger Meter’s 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.