Jane Street Group LLC Lowers Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Jane Street Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 30,499 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Badger Meter worth $7,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. CWM LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 40.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 472.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,203 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,392,000 after buying an additional 15,024 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 100.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 64,459 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $12,012,000 after buying an additional 32,278 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,704,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock traded down $4.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $226.31. 174,145 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,811. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $217.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.75. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.16, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.50 and a 52-week high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.75%.

About Badger Meter

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.