Inspire Investing LLC Lowers 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 decreased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 62.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 32,827 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,776 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $174.96. 170,943 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 285,161. The company has a fifty day moving average of $194.90 and a 200 day moving average of $211.85. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.87.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.