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

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $229.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $7,332,720.14. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $216.56. 16,115 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 202,691. The stock's fifty day moving average is $197.76 and its 200 day moving average is $209.49. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 51.11, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.