Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Increased to $180.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target upped by Robert W. Baird from $151.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $176.68 on Friday. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $126.66 and a 52 week high of $181.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.56.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.39%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.