Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $20.59 Million Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 97,048 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $20,586,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.33% of Badger Meter at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI traded up $1.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $210.13. The company had a trading volume of 489,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,272. The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.68, 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $198.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.93.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Maxim Group upped their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.40.

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.