Royal Bank of Canada Begins Coverage on Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI)

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

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

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.7 %

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 148 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 14,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,638.63. This trade 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 16,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.74, for a total transaction of $3,371,151.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,332,720.14. This trade represents a 31.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,407. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 162.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by 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.