Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $225.20.

BMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $251.00 price target for the company.

Badger Meter Stock Down 6.7 %

BMI traded down $13.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $182.61. The company had a trading volume of 43,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,653. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 43.17, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year high of $239.11. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $207.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.39.

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Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 16,073 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $3,371,151.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at $7,332,720.14. The trade was a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total transaction of $508,157.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,475.67. This trade represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,316,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its position in Badger Meter by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

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.