Brokerages Set Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) PT at $200.25

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $200.25.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter worth $204,000. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of BMI opened at $226.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $206.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 65.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $134.06 and a 52-week high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

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.