Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Shares Bought by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) by 55.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 8,429 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.06% of Belden worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Belden in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,167,000. Polen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Belden during the 4th quarter worth $2,723,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Belden during the 4th quarter valued at about $443,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter valued at about $387,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Belden by 189.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,386,000 after purchasing an additional 52,439 shares during the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Belden news, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total transaction of $1,619,925.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,939,527.05. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total transaction of $441,882.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,776.79. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,259 shares of company stock worth $2,340,577. Corporate insiders own 1.48% of the company's stock.

Belden Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:BDC traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $110.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,901. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.23 and a 200-day moving average of $110.99. Belden Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.18 and a 52-week high of $131.82.

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

Belden Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Belden's payout ratio is 3.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. StockNews.com cut Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Belden in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.20.

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.