SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 68.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,961 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 15,314 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $83,819,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Badger Meter by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 712,650 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $124,293,000 after purchasing an additional 335,953 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,435,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Badger Meter by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 754,402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $131,592,000 after purchasing an additional 212,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Badger Meter by 99.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 401,668 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,203,000 after buying an additional 200,330 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BMI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.86.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $146.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.64. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $112.09 and a one year high of $249.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.02.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

More Badger Meter News

Here are the key news stories impacting Badger Meter this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms are promoting a securities class action against Badger Meter, alleging investor harm tied to possible misrepresentations about the company’s AMI transition and short-cycle municipal ordering practices. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing deadline reminders for the class action may keep legal uncertainty in focus for BMI investors over the next several weeks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional firms, including Rosen, Schall, Pomerantz, Berger Montague, and Faruqi & Faruqi, issued similar notices repeating the same class-period and deadline information, reinforcing the legal overhang rather than adding new operational news. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst bought 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $117.53 per share, for a total transaction of $258,566.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,073,480.28. The trade was a 4.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Edward F. Callahan purchased 858 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $116.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,785.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,186 shares in the company, valued at $137,931.80. The trade was a 261.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 6,628 shares of company stock valued at $777,128. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.