American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 5,376 Shares of Bel Fuse Inc. $BELFB

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Bel Fuse Inc. by 1.5%, bringing the total to approximately 2.82% of the company's stock, valued at $26.74 million.
• Bel Fuse's stock recently received several positive analyst ratings, with price targets set as high as $130.00 by Needham & Company LLC, reflecting a generally favorable outlook among analysts.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.07 per share, up from the previous $0.06, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 357,131 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,376 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 2.82% of Bel Fuse worth $26,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BELFB. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,840 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Bel Fuse by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,750 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,464,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Bel Fuse by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,003 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Bel Fuse by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 115,503 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $9,526,000 after buying an additional 12,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Bel Fuse by 52.8% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,331 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 5,641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.39% of the company's stock.

Bel Fuse Price Performance

BELFB traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $140.49. 89,600 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,012. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Bel Fuse Inc. has a one year low of $57.99 and a one year high of $141.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.44.

Bel Fuse Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This is a positive change from Bel Fuse's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Bel Fuse's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.86%.

Insider Activity at Bel Fuse

In related news, VP Kenneth Koon Keung Lai sold 1,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.00, for a total value of $243,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 10,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,312,640. This trade represents a 15.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen Dawson sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.07, for a total transaction of $152,484.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,812,653.55. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,100 shares of company stock valued at $731,804. Company insiders own 5.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on BELFB shares. Oppenheimer set a $125.00 target price on shares of Bel Fuse and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Bel Fuse to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bel Fuse from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Bel Fuse in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Bel Fuse from $116.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.60.

Bel Fuse Profile

Bel Fuse Inc designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that power, protect, and connect electronic circuits. The company's products are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries.