Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $229.80.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter worth approximately $369,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Badger Meter by 186.9% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,372 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 4,151 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in Badger Meter by 771.9% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 16,593 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,157,000 after acquiring an additional 14,690 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Badger Meter by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 29,103 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 686.0% during the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 37,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $7,142,000 after acquiring an additional 32,763 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $245.05 on Monday. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $249.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 57.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.88.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The business had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 29.96%.

About Badger Meter

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.

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