Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Inspire Advisors LLC

Inspire Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,294 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 134 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $207.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.07. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.06 and a 1-year high of $230.76. The company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.84, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 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 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Maxim Group raised their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.