Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 62.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 6,187 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,482 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 19,667 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,172,000 after purchasing an additional 5,385 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $169,448,000 after buying an additional 17,873 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,272,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 44,932 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $9,531,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total value of $508,157.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded down $1.04 on Wednesday, hitting $184.77. The company had a trading volume of 36,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,296. The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 43.56, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $199.69 and a 200 day moving average of $210.64. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $151.50 and a 52-week 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 (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BMI. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $222.60.

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.