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

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.20.

Badger Meter Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $198.17 and its 200 day moving average is $184.74. The stock has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $594,570,000 after acquiring an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 100,304 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 7.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $62,873,000 after buying an additional 22,160 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,127,000 after acquiring an additional 74,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $47,359,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.