Robert W. Baird Increases Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target to $180.00

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price objective hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $151.00 to $180.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on BMI. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note 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, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $181.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 52.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $128.93 and a 52-week high of $182.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $158.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.19.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Alliance purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,585,000 after buying an additional 126,707 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,934 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,429,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 33.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 233,660 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,617,000 after acquiring an additional 58,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,230,000. 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.