Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Sets New 52-Week High at $210.68

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $210.68 and last traded at $210.03, with a volume of 24312 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $209.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.99, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.74.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,359,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $50,127,000 after buying an additional 74,578 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $10,360,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at $10,622,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.