First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) by 97.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,983 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.12% of Belden worth $5,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Belden during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Belden by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Belden by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 835 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Belden by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Belden by 624.8% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,522 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BDC. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.20.

Belden Stock Down 0.7 %

BDC traded down $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.78. The stock had a trading volume of 23,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,051. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.92. Belden Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.18 and a twelve month high of $131.82. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 1.24.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.12. Belden had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $624.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $615.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Belden's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.86%.

Insider Activity at Belden

In related news, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total value of $1,619,925.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,129 shares in the company, valued at $11,939,527.05. This trade represents a 11.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.77, for a total value of $275,448.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,667,599.11. The trade was a 9.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774 in the last three months. 1.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.