Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) PT Raised to $235.00 at Maxim Group

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price target lifted by Maxim Group from $216.00 to $235.00 in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Maxim Group currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

BMI has been the subject of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $204.34 on Friday. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $230.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 58.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 46.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 40.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at about $204,000. 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.