Belden (NYSE:BDC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Belden (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BDC. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, May 5th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.20.

Belden Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE BDC traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $111.36. 122,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,013. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15 and a beta of 1.24. Belden has a 52-week low of $83.18 and a 52-week high of $131.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.99.

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

Belden Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. Belden's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Belden

In other news, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total transaction of $1,619,925.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,939,527.05. The trade was a 11.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Leah Tate sold 231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,259 shares of company stock valued at $2,340,577 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Belden in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Belden in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Belden in the first quarter valued at $47,000. 98.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.