Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Given New $235.00 Price Target at Maxim Group

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price objective boosted by Maxim Group from $216.00 to $235.00 in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. Maxim Group currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BMI. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $207.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.89, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $209.57 and a 200 day moving average of $194.81. Badger Meter has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The company had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, August 23rd. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.