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

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 97,048 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $20,586,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.33% of Badger Meter as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $814,939,000 after acquiring an additional 44,839 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $91,884,000 after buying an additional 17,060 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded down $2.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.97. 43,873 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 202,905. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $197.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.76, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter's payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Maxim Group raised 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 Badger Meter in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.