Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Sets New 52-Week High at $191.50

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $191.50 and last traded at $190.35, with a volume of 9726 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $189.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on BMI shares. 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 stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Badger Meter from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.80.

Badger Meter Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $164.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.44. The company has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The firm's revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,328.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total transaction of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total transaction of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at $355,328.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,651,786 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $563,726,000 after buying an additional 37,517 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 80,979 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 100,304 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 363,243 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $52,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Badger Meter by 29.8% during 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 buying 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.