Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Given New $175.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $147.00 to $175.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $176.68 on Friday. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $126.66 and a fifty-two week high of $181.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.80. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 50.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.86.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced 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. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the first quarter worth approximately $484,000. River Street Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.9% during the first quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 29.0% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,672 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,183,000 after buying an additional 4,426 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 7.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 7.8% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 21,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,411,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. 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.