Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 447,258 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 127% from the previous session’s volume of 196,643 shares.The stock last traded at $166.08 and had previously closed at $184.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Maxim Group raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.20.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.0 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $205.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.92. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total value of $240,571.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,640.24. This represents a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the business’s 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 $31,395.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,638.63. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Badger Meter

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $814,939,000 after purchasing an additional 44,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Badger Meter by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $91,884,000 after buying an additional 17,060 shares in the last quarter. 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.