Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $218.75.

Several research firms have recently commented on BMI. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BMI opened at $209.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $213.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.87. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $150.87 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total value of $508,157.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Badger Meter by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $7,083,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Geneva Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,120,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in 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 valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. 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.