Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Takes $1.84 Million Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure 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.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.2 %

BMI stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $207.86. 179,067 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 211,194. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.87 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.