Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP Kimberly K. Stoll Sells 1,097 Shares

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $1.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $203.12. 100,033 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 178,398. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.06 and a twelve month high of $210.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.76. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.08, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Argus lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.