Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Position Increased by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 9.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,243 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,525 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.25% of Badger Meter worth $13,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $594,570,000 after buying an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $61,380,000 after acquiring an additional 100,304 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Badger Meter by 7.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $62,873,000 after acquiring an additional 22,160 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $50,127,000 after purchasing an additional 74,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $47,359,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $192.24 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.06 and a 52 week high of $210.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 55.40, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.22.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The company had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.