Jump Financial LLC Reduces Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Jump Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 2,130 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMI. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 during the period. Finally, Seeds Investor LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total value of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.80.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $216.00. The stock had a trading volume of 18,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,702. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $197.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 51.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 29.96%.

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.