Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Upgraded at Royal Bank of Canada

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) was upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.4 %

BMI stock opened at $193.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.51. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $151.18 and a twelve month high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,866,000 after buying an additional 19,848 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 67.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 37,976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,294,000 after acquiring an additional 15,240 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 20.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,549,000 after acquiring an additional 6,732 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 9.7% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,664 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 26.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 83,270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,187,000 after purchasing an additional 17,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.