Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Coverage Initiated at Royal Bank of Canada

Equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) in a report released on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $251.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 30.48% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.20.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $192.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.48, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $209.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.65. Badger Meter has a 12 month low of $151.18 and a 12 month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $31,395.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $240,571.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,640.24. The trade was a 18.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 35.0% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 8,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 6.2% in the 3rd 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. grew 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 during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Badger Meter by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,544 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in 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 during 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.