AQR Capital Management LLC Has $6.68 Million Holdings in 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 lowered its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 82,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $17,529,000 after acquiring an additional 29,164 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Badger Meter by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 32,827 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its position in Badger Meter by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 2,145 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI traded down $2.79 on Tuesday, reaching $176.97. The company had a trading volume of 148,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,235. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $256.08. The company's fifty day moving average is $197.47 and its 200-day moving average is $212.37.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Badger Meter's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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