Vontobel Holding Ltd. Buys 674 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,857 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 674 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 9.1% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,393 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 6.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 29,408 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,933,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $176.68 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.66 and a 52 week high of $181.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.27, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $157.41 and a 200-day moving average of $150.56.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. The business had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

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.