JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $91.88 Million Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,060 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.47% of Badger Meter worth $91,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on BMI shares. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of BMI traded down $2.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $170.62. The company had a trading volume of 344,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,230. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $203.44 and a 200-day moving average of $211.97.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.