Private Client Services LLC Invests $1.43 Million in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Private Client Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,309 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Belden by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,224 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $530,418,000 after purchasing an additional 223,887 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 711,784 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,154,000 after acquiring an additional 3,692 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 695,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $78,309,000 after acquiring an additional 18,825 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 633,204 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $71,305,000 after acquiring an additional 58,508 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter valued at $54,167,000. 98.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Belden

In related news, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total value of $441,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,776.79. This trade represents a 50.01% 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 Leah Tate sold 231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 30,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,428,518.80. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BDC shares. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, May 5th. Loop Capital cut their price target on 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 cut their price target on Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Belden has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.20.

Belden Stock Performance

Belden stock traded up $3.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $108.31. 67,582 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 276,199. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $101.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52 and a beta of 1.24. Belden Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.18 and a 1 year high of $131.82.

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

Belden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. Belden's payout ratio is currently 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.