Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $251.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $193.18 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $209.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.51. Badger Meter has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year high of $239.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 32.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 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 value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BMI. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 162.5% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 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.