Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Raised to $207.00

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

BMI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.0 %

BMI opened at $176.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $157.94 and its 200-day moving average is $150.86. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $126.66 and a 52-week high of $181.00.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.