Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 75.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,684 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 26,583 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $814,939,000 after buying an additional 44,839 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares during 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 worth $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 17,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 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 $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’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 transaction of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.80.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $245.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.80. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $249.65.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $222.21 million for 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

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.