Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target to $175.00

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its target price boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $147.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $176.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.95, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $157.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.86. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $126.66 and a fifty-two 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,603 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,262 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.