25,181 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Purchased by Capital Fund Management S.A.

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 stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 approximately 0.09% of Badger Meter as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% during the first 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. Covestor Ltd grew 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 valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 9,747 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Badger Meter by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,221 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI traded down $2.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $185.86. 62,764 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 278,021. The company has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $213.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.30. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BMI. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.40.

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.