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

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 447,258 shares traded hands 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.0 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $205.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 5,897.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $49,917,000 after purchasing an additional 231,398 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 21,179.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,255 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 184.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,350,000 after buying an additional 166,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,586,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.