Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Upgraded to “Moderate Buy” at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) to a moderate buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BMI. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $193.18 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.51. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $151.18 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $74,322,000 after buying an additional 12,180 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $385,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 68.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after acquiring an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $369,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.