Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) by 31.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,748 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,225 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Belden were worth $476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Belden by 234.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 224,363 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,266,000 after purchasing an additional 157,335 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Belden by 0.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,615 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,889,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Belden in the fourth quarter worth about $54,167,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Belden by 34.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group acquired a new stake in Belden in the first quarter worth about $454,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Belden news, SVP Leah Tate sold 231 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 30,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,428,518.80. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Brian Edward Anderson sold 7,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were 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 directly 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. Insiders own 1.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BDC shares. Benchmark raised their price target on Belden from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Belden from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Belden in a report on Friday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Belden Stock Performance

Shares of Belden stock traded down $6.16 on Friday, reaching $117.49. 545,190 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 315,473. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Belden Inc has a twelve month low of $83.18 and a twelve month high of $132.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.12.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. Belden had a return on equity of 23.29% and a net margin of 8.60%. The firm had revenue of $671.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Belden Inc will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders 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 0.2%. Belden's payout ratio is presently 3.86%.

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.