Belpointe Asset Management LLC Sells 169 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Belpointe Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 0.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 178,961 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the quarter. Badger Meter accounts for approximately 1.8% of Belpointe Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Belpointe Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $34,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 182,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,687,000 after purchasing an additional 95,966 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 82,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $17,529,000 after purchasing an additional 29,164 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 103.9% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 5,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.00.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $178.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.87. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $256.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $202.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.14.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) 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). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid 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 was Friday, August 22nd. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.86%.

Badger Meter Profile

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.