Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Trims Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. trimmed its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 70.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 935 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,243 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 83.0% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the first quarter worth about $67,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BMI. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.33.

Badger Meter Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of BMI opened at $182.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $180.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.45. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.62%. The firm had revenue of $235.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 34.86%.

Badger Meter Company 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.