AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 8,869 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 20.2% in the first quarter, holding approximately $6.68 million worth of shares after a sell-off.
• Badger Meter reported a quarterly EPS of $1.17, missing estimates by $0.02, but its revenue grew by 9.9% year-over-year to $238.1 million.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share, with a current annualized yield of 0.9%.

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,115 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 8,869 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Badger Meter worth $6,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 8,739 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 618 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.00.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.8%

BMI stock traded down $4.89 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 790,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,403. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $256.08. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.87. The company's fifty day moving average is $194.90 and its 200-day moving average is $211.85.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The business had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $235.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 34.86%.

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.