Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Price Target Lowered to $145.00 at Robert W. Baird

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price objective decreased by Robert W. Baird from $173.00 to $145.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Badger Meter from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $191.00 price objective (down from $229.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $174.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $110.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.38.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.0%

BMI stock opened at $113.21 on Monday. Badger Meter has a 52-week low of $112.09 and a 52-week high of $256.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 14.56%.The business had revenue of $220.71 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.01, for a total transaction of $243,482.34. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,256 shares in the company, valued at $485,176.56. The trade was a 33.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst acquired 3,300 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $152.42 per share, for a total transaction of $502,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 40,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,098,781.46. This represents a 8.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,989 shares of company stock worth $596,002 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BMI. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 62.3% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Badger Meter

Here are the key news stories impacting Badger Meter this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted a strong project pipeline and the strategic UDlive acquisition, which analysts say support long‑term growth despite the quarter’s weakness. Zacks: Q1 Earnings & Revenues Miss
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokers trimmed price targets but kept buy/outperform ratings, reflecting model resets rather than wholesale loss of conviction (cuts include RBC, Stifel, Robert W. Baird). (See analyst coverage summary.) Benzinga: Analysts Slash Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 FY26 results missed expectations: adjusted EPS of $0.93 and revenue of $202.3M (sales down ~9%). Management blamed project timing and pacing for the short‑cycle weakness, which pressured near‑term results and sentiment. Benzinga: Q1 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts reduced earnings and price targets following the miss, amplifying downward pressure on the share price as models absorb lower short‑cycle revenue. Benzinga: Analysts Slash Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation inquiry — Johnson Fistel is investigating potential claims related to Badger Meter’s executives, introducing legal/uncertainty risk that can weigh on sentiment. GlobeNewsWire: Shareholder Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: The stock set a new 12‑month low after earnings, underscoring the market’s focus on near‑term execution risk even as longer‑term drivers remain cited by management. American Banking News: 12‑Month Low

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.