Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 153,320 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 26.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 727,797 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 153,320 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 2.55% of Badger Meter worth $89,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,680 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 3.2% in the third quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 4,133 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% in the third quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 19,244 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $159.20 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $135.39 and a 200-day moving average of $138.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.63. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.09 and a 12 month high of $192.28.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business had revenue of $230.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 40.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $168.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Monday, October 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.33.

Badger Meter Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of products and systems used to measure and manage water and other fluid flows. Founded in 1905, the company serves municipal water utilities as well as commercial and industrial customers.

Its offerings include water meters, flow instrumentation and related communications technology that helps customers collect and analyze usage data. Badger Meter also provides water quality monitoring equipment and software for tracking water system performance and supporting operational decisions.

The company serves customers in North America and international markets through its sales and distribution networks.