Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 5,897.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 231,398 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.80% of Badger Meter worth $49,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $814,939,000 after buying an additional 44,839 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,547,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $91,884,000 after purchasing an additional 17,060 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $77,034,000 after purchasing an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $74,322,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded down $10.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $185.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 52,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,646. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $207.07 and a 200-day moving average of $213.39. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $225.20.

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.