Capital Fund Management S.A. Buys Shares of 25,181 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. has invested approximately $4.79 million in Badger Meter, acquiring 25,181 shares in the company.
• Badger Meter recently announced a dividend increase from $0.34 to $0.40 per share, with a payout date set for September 5th.
• The company reported an EPS of $1.17 for its latest quarter, slightly missing the expectation of $1.19, but achieving a 9.9% year-over-year revenue growth.

Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 25,181 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $4,791,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. owned about 0.09% of Badger Meter at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at $65,448,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter worth about $44,715,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 21,179.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,255 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised 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 valued at $54,350,000 after purchasing an additional 166,191 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $120,027,000 after purchasing an additional 129,945 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of BMI traded up $3.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $188.62. 180,624 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 278,205. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $256.08. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $214.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.48. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.84.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $238.10 million for 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.