Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Increased to $203.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price objective boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $189.00 to $203.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BMI. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.00.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.1 %

BMI stock opened at $219.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $134.06 and a twelve month high of $230.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $208.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.39.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Badger Meter by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,017 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 37,517 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,516 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $1,069,000. 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.