ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Reduces Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 62.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,187 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,482 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Badger Meter by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 19,667 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,172,000 after buying an additional 5,385 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $169,448,000 after buying an additional 17,873 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 44,932 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $9,531,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group increased their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $182.04 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.18 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.29.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

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.