Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Given New $203.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $184.00 to $203.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.98% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on BMI. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised their target price on shares of 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 cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four 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 Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE BMI traded up $1.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $207.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 107,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,151. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $230.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $209.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.47.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 22,707 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $62,873,000 after buying an additional 22,160 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its position in Badger Meter by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 278,606 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,081,000 after buying an additional 34,817 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,359 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $25,948,000 after buying an additional 2,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 66.4% in the second 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 buying an additional 51,318 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by 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.