Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Makes New $1.84 Million Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,838,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $385,000. Geneva Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at about $1,120,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $210.14 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 49.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $215.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.23. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.87 and a 1-year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group increased their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

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.