Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,357 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,009 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Belden were worth $1,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Belden during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,301,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,740 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 36,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 13,471 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter worth approximately $969,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Leah Tate sold 231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 30,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,428,518.80. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Brian Edward Anderson sold 7,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.51, for a total value of $934,190.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 39,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,164,802.74. The trade was a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Belden from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Belden in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Belden from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Belden currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $132.75.

Belden Stock Up 1.0%

BDC stock traded up $1.23 on Friday, hitting $128.39. 235,449 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 295,614. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.71. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79 and a beta of 1.24. Belden Inc has a 12-month low of $83.18 and a 12-month high of $131.82.

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

Belden Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Belden's payout ratio is 3.86%.

Belden Company Profile

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.