Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Reaches New 12-Month High at $210.68

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.20.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.49.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 254,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $39,344,000 after purchasing an additional 7,094 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $594,570,000 after acquiring an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $1,069,000. Cim LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $1,550,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.