SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. Makes New Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 6,400 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMI. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 89.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 712,650 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $124,293,000 after acquiring an additional 335,953 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter worth $45,435,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 754,402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $131,592,000 after acquiring an additional 212,448 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 99.5% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 401,668 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,203,000 after acquiring an additional 200,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 3,540.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 192,031 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,293,000 after acquiring an additional 186,756 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst purchased 2,200 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $117.53 per share, with a total value of $258,566.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,073,480.28. The trade was a 4.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Wrocklage purchased 1,000 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $122.35 per share, with a total value of $122,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,853,324.35. The trade was a 4.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 6,628 shares of company stock valued at $777,128 and sold 3,841 shares valued at $573,746. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BMI. Argus downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $167.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Maxim Group downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.86.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BMI stock opened at $124.81 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.83. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.68. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.09 and a 12 month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.56% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The firm had revenue of $220.71 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 36.12%.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.