Dudley & Shanley Inc. Purchases New Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Dudley & Shanley Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 82,695 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,423,000. Badger Meter makes up 2.3% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Dudley & Shanley Inc. owned about 0.28% of Badger Meter as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 62.3% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on BMI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $167.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research lowered Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price target on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective (down from $229.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.88.

Badger Meter Stock Up 4.2%

BMI opened at $154.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.87. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.14 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $155.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.82.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $220.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.30 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 15.45%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,634 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.01, for a total transaction of $243,482.34. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $485,176.56. This represents a 33.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst purchased 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $152.42 per share, with a total value of $502,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,098,781.46. This trade represents a 8.99% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,989 shares of company stock valued at $596,002. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.