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

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $214.75.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 51,318 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 86.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $18,782,000 after purchasing an additional 46,650 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $23,499,000 after purchasing an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 80.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 78,914 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $14,706,000 after purchasing an additional 35,150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI traded down $4.99 on Thursday, hitting $199.97. 292,382 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 179,613. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $136.31 and a 12 month high of $230.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $210.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.62, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is 33.75%.

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.