Inspire Investing LLC Has $415,000 Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. by 62.7%, now owning 2,179 shares worth $415,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Badger Meter announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 0.9% yield following an increase from the previous dividend of $0.34.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Badger Meter, with a consensus average target of $237.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 62.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 3,660 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth about $369,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 878 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth about $65,448,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $177.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50 day moving average is $198.64 and its 200 day moving average is $212.54. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter's payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note 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. Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.00.

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.

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