Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 447,258 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 127% from the previous session’s volume of 196,643 shares.The stock last traded at $166.08 and had previously closed at $184.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.97.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $74,322,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Badger Meter by 68.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after acquiring an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. 89.01% of the stock is 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.