Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI – Get Rating) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,120 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 4,286 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.21% of Badger Meter worth $6,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 576.8% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 379 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Standard Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 9.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BMI. StockNews.com began coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Argus boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $130.00 to $151.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $342,786.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $342,786.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,620 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,443.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $136.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.09 and a beta of 0.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.20 and a 1 year high of $143.37.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $159.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.73 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 16.45% and a net margin of 12.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 26th will be issued a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 25th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 36.89%.

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.