Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Stock Price Up 5.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s stock price rose 5.7% during trading on Monday after Robert W. Baird upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an outperform rating. Robert W. Baird now has a $173.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $165.00. Badger Meter traded as high as $154.68 and last traded at $154.0670. Approximately 69,961 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 402,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.81.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $166.00 price objective on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $167.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research lowered Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Fred J. Begale sold 2,064 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $309,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,000. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Wrocklage purchased 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $152.35 per share, for a total transaction of $251,377.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 19,541 shares in the company, valued at $2,977,071.35. The trade was a 9.22% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,989 shares of company stock worth $596,002. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,979,893 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $694,133,000 after buying an additional 19,585 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $358,315,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 970,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $173,262,000 after acquiring an additional 168,053 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $152,951,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Badger Meter by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 754,402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $131,592,000 after acquiring an additional 212,448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.7%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.76. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.87.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $220.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.30 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

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.