Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 23rd

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 25th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.34 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd.

Badger Meter has increased its dividend payment by an average of 17.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 32 consecutive years. Badger Meter has a payout ratio of 24.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Badger Meter to earn $5.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.3%.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:BMI opened at $247.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.44, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $205.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.41. Badger Meter has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $249.65.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst sold 1,165 shares of the 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 $247,131.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,280.60. This trade represents a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Karen M. Bauer sold 1,147 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $4,398,407. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Badger Meter stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 328.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,766 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.