StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $88.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 20th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Friday, July 15th. They set a neutral rating for the company. TheStreet raised shares of Badger Meter from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $94.67.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $94.01 on Friday. Badger Meter has a fifty-two week low of $73.20 and a fifty-two week high of $112.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.36. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 42.93 and a beta of 0.85.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 26th will be given a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. This is an increase from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 25th. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 41.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP William R. A. Bergum sold 2,362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.40, for a total transaction of $227,696.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,143,400.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Prelude Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at $369,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 155,434 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at $875,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 129.1% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 250,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $20,254,000 after purchasing an additional 141,111 shares during the period. Finally, First Republic Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,207 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. 86.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Badger Meter

(Get Rating)

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, and internationally. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities.

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