Robert W. Baird Increases Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target to $203.00

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its target price raised by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $184.00 to $203.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 2.24% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $207.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $134.06 and a 52-week high of $230.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $209.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.07.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the 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 directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $594,570,000 after acquiring an additional 22,707 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 7.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,160 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 14.3% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 278,606 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,081,000 after purchasing an additional 34,817 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,359 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $25,948,000 after buying an additional 2,095 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $23,974,000 after buying an additional 51,318 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.