Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Reaches New 12-Month High at $174.88

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $174.88 and last traded at $171.21, with a volume of 85084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $147.50.

Badger Meter Trading Up 16.7 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $156.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.86.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.16%. The company had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $182.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Badger Meter's revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.39%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Badger Meter news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. River Street Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,672 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,183,000 after buying an additional 4,426 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 21,082 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridge City Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 15,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

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.