Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Raised to $235.00

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target upped by Maxim Group from $216.00 to $235.00 in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on BMI. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upped their target price on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $207.66 on Friday. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $230.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $209.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% during the 1st 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.