Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Reaches New 12-Month High at $188.04

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $188.04 and last traded at $187.70, with a volume of 25895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.80.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $161.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.70.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The firm had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,919.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $47,359,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,585,000 after purchasing an additional 126,707 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $61,380,000 after buying an additional 100,304 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,024,305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $147,367,000 after acquiring an additional 80,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $50,127,000 after acquiring an additional 74,578 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is 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.