Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $219.77, but opened at $201.76. Badger Meter shares last traded at $199.77, with a volume of 62,979 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 9.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.39.

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. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 51,318 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 86.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,782,000 after buying an additional 46,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 47.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $23,499,000 after buying an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is 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.