Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $225.20.

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $31,395.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,640.24. This trade represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 67.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 37,976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,294,000 after purchasing an additional 15,240 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 20.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,549,000 after acquiring an additional 6,732 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,664 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 83,270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,187,000 after purchasing an additional 17,483 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 11,740 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.7 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $189.86 on Friday. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $151.18 and a 12-month high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $208.55 and a 200 day moving average of $213.62.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. On average, analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

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.