Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Sets New 12-Month High at $188.04

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $188.04 and last traded at $187.70, with a volume of 25895 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $185.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Maxim Group upped their target price on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.80.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.61 and a 200 day moving average of $153.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.