Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Now Covered by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $251.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on BMI. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $189.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.62. Badger Meter has a one year low of $151.18 and a one year high of $239.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 44.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. Equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total transaction of $247,131.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $814,939,000 after acquiring an additional 44,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,884,000 after buying an additional 17,060 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.