Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Raised to $175.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

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

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Up 2.5 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $181.14 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $158.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.19. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 52.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $128.93 and a 52-week high of $182.80.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.12%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value 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 $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value 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 $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,603 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 1.8% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital increased its stake in Badger Meter by 4.5% in the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 2,272 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management increased its stake in Badger Meter by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 19,606 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 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.