Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Lowered to $196.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $209.00 to $196.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.48% from the stock’s current price.

BMI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.60.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $185.82 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.64. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $151.50 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 5,897.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,917,000 after purchasing an additional 231,398 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 21,179.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,255 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 184.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,350,000 after purchasing an additional 166,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,586,000. 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.