Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Purchased by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.7% during Q1, now owning 291,637 shares valued at $55.48 million.
• Badger Meter recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, up from the previous dividend of $0.34, with an annualized yield of 0.8%.
• Despite a reported EPS miss of $1.17 compared to analyst expectations, Badger Meter's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% year-over-year at $238.10 million.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 291,637 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,807 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 0.99% of Badger Meter worth $55,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,221 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,425 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 184.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $54,350,000 after buying an additional 166,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,706,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded down $3.80 on Friday, hitting $182.69. 412,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 278,618. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $256.08. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $212.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.10.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.40.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.