Acadian Asset Management LLC Has $10.63 Million Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Acadian Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,718 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,636 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Badger Meter worth $10,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $47,359,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,585,000 after acquiring an additional 126,707 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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. KBC Group NV increased its position in 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 valued at $50,127,000 after purchasing an additional 74,578 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,360,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Maxim Group increased their price target on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI traded down $3.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.56. The stock had a trading volume of 373,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,160. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.06 and a 1-year high of $202.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.93.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.14. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.12%.

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.