Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Raised to Moderate Buy at Royal Bank of Canada

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada to a “moderate buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $193.18 on Wednesday. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $151.18 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.67, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.51.

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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.13, for a total value of $31,395.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,280.60. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Badger Meter

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 6.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,866,000 after purchasing an additional 19,848 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 67.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 37,976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,294,000 after purchasing an additional 15,240 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 20.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,549,000 after buying an additional 6,732 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 9.7% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,664 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,421,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 26.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 83,270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,187,000 after acquiring an additional 17,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

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.