Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Has $793,000 Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 83.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,740 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 19,316 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company'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. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.05. 206,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 206,331. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.93, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $249.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.80.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.80.

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.