Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Stock Price

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $238.00 to $252.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.40.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock traded up $2.79 on Monday, reaching $213.22. 17,865 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,314. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $239.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $197.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.93. The company has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.33, for a total value of $508,157.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,986,475.67. This represents a 14.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BMI. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 348.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $12,034,000 after acquiring an additional 42,806 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 9.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,750 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 14.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,317 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of the South purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $394,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.