Citigroup Inc. Purchases 28,936 Shares of Belden Inc $BDC

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Belden Inc. by 74.0% during the first quarter, owning 68,015 shares valued at approximately $6.8 million.
• Belden's stock has seen a 1.2% decrease, bringing its current price to $124.10, while the company reported a quarterly earnings beat with an EPS of $1.89.
• Analysts have mixed views, with five analysts rating the stock as a buy and a price target average of $136.50, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from “strong-buy” to “buy.”

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) by 74.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,015 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,936 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Belden worth $6,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDC. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Belden in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Belden by 208.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 392 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Belden in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Belden Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Belden stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $124.17. 148,592 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 282,240. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 1.28. Belden Inc has a twelve month low of $83.18 and a twelve month high of $132.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.44.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $671.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $654.82 million. Belden had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 23.29%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. Belden has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.850-1.950 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Belden Inc will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Belden in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Belden from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Belden news, SVP Brian Edward Anderson sold 7,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.51, for a total value of $934,190.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 39,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,164,802.74. The trade was a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.