ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 3,866 Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) by 41.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Belden were worth $1,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Belden by 208.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 392 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Belden by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Belden by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 835 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BDC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Belden in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Belden

In other Belden news, SVP Leah Tate sold 231 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,518.80. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of Belden stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total value of $1,619,925.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,939,527.05. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,259 shares of company stock valued at $2,340,577. 1.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Belden Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDC traded down $1.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $106.32. 166,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 275,731. The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.92. Belden Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.18 and a 1-year high of $131.82. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $101.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.70.

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

Belden Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. Belden's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.