Brokerages Set Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC) Price Target at $128.20

Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $128.20.

BDC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Belden from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th.

Belden Stock Performance

NYSE BDC traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, reaching $116.34. The stock had a trading volume of 849,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,978. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $107.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.70. Belden has a 1-year low of $83.18 and a 1-year high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.12. Belden had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The business had revenue of $624.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Belden's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. Belden's payout ratio is presently 3.86%.

Insider Activity at Belden

In other news, SVP Leah Tate sold 231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $26,250.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,428,518.80. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belden

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Belden by 234.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 224,363 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,266,000 after buying an additional 157,335 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter worth about $54,167,000. Polen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,723,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Belden in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,126,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Belden in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $443,000. 98.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Belden

Belden Inc designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of signal transmission solutions for mission critical applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates in two segments, Enterprise Solutions and Industrial Automation Solutions. The Enterprise Solutions segment offers copper cable and connectivity solutions, fiber cable and connectivity solutions, interconnect panels, racks and enclosures, and signal extension and matrix switching systems for use in applications, such as local area networks, data centers, access control, 5G, fiber to the home, and building automation.