Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) PT Raised to $207.00

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target lifted by Maxim Group from $190.00 to $207.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Maxim Group currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BMI. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $162.50.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of BMI opened at $181.14 on Friday. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $128.93 and a 52 week high of $182.80. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.20, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $158.52 and a 200-day moving average of $151.19.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.12%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.