Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Position Decreased by Inspire Advisors LLC

Inspire Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,428 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BMI shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.20.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $209.08 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.06 and a 52-week high of $210.29.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

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.