Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.27

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%.

Badger Meter has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 31 years.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.0 %

BMI stock traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $185.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 188,012. The firm's 50-day moving average is $160.98 and its 200-day moving average is $152.24. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $130.75 and a 12 month high of $187.41. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 53.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.55, for a total value of $30,952.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 1,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 13,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,919.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 13,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,181,367.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $448,167 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BMI. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four research 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, Badger Meter has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.80.

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.