Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $219.77, but opened at $201.76. Badger Meter shares last traded at $199.77, with a volume of 62,979 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on BMI shares. 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $208.97 and its 200 day moving average is $194.39. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.57, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders 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 a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter 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 transaction of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $23,974,000 after acquiring an additional 51,318 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $18,782,000 after acquiring an additional 46,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $23,499,000 after acquiring an additional 40,400 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.