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

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report)'s stock price 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $185.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BMI. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Badger Meter from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.80.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.5 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.03. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.74, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.12%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,181,367.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Badger Meter news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,603 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 2,272 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 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.