Jump Financial LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Jump Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 2,130 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 348.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 42,806 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 9.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,750 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,911,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,317 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of the South bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $394,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.80.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $216.35. 152,757 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 203,333. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.15, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.68.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Badger Meter Company 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.