Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. BMI has seen an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 4 hedge funds in our database with BMI holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are dozens of methods investors can use to watch Mr. Market. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can beat the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Just as important, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are many motivations for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the key action surrounding Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI).
How have hedgies been trading Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 50% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI). Royce & Associates has a $13 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, which held a $5.5 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and John Burbank’s Passport Capital.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds have jumped into Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) headfirst. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, assembled the most outsized position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI). Citadel Investment Group had 0.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Burbank’s Passport Capital also initiated a $0.3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.
Insider trading activity in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time period, Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI). These stocks are Analogic Corporation (NASDAQ:ALOG), Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS), MTS Systems Corporation (NASDAQ:MTSC), FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO), and Rofin-Sinar Technologies (NASDAQ:RSTI). This group of stocks are the members of the scientific & technical instruments industry and their market caps are similar to BMI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Analogic Corporation (NASDAQ:ALOG) | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS) | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| MTS Systems Corporation (NASDAQ:MTSC) | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) | 8 | 0 | 3 |
| Rofin-Sinar Technologies (NASDAQ:RSTI) | 8 | 4 | 5 |
With the results shown by the aforementioned studies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
