Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.56. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 56.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.