Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Shares in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 55,957 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $6,301,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Belden as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BDC. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Belden by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,224 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $530,418,000 after buying an additional 223,887 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Belden by 10.6% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 708,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,939,000 after purchasing an additional 68,151 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Belden during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,167,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Belden by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 294,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,212,000 after buying an additional 111,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Belden by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 277,555 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,255,000 after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Belden Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDC traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.96. 367,272 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 274,185. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.96. Belden Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.02 and a 1-year high of $131.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.24. Belden had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.42%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Belden's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BDC shares. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Belden from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com cut Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.20.

Insider Activity at Belden

In other news, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total transaction of $1,619,925.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,939,527.05. The trade was a 11.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.77, for a total value of $275,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,667,599.11. The trade was a 9.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,428 shares of company stock worth $2,589,774 over the last three months. 1.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Belden 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.