Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Sets New 1-Year High at $210.68

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $210.68 and last traded at $210.03, with a volume of 24312 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $209.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 61.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.49.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 46.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 9.8% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 40.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 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.