Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Increased to $175.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $147.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential downside of 0.95% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.0 %

BMI stock traded down $1.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $176.68. The company had a trading volume of 545,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,703. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.27, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.86. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $126.66 and a 52-week high of $181.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.56.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $196.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total transaction of $221,221.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 1,203 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.92, for a total value of $195,992.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.23, for a total value of $221,221.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock worth $448,167 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $47,359,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 434.2% during the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 372,468 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $45,372,000 after buying an additional 302,742 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,070,197 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $167,458,000 after buying an additional 198,228 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 129.1% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 250,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $20,254,000 after buying an additional 141,111 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $21,585,000 after buying an additional 126,707 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.