Swiss National Bank Increases Stock Position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Belden were worth $9,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Belden in the third quarter valued at $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Belden by 97.7% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Belden by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Belden by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Belden by 27.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Belden currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.25.

Belden Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BDC opened at $101.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 1.02. Belden Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.90 and a 1-year high of $131.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $111.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.65. 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 (NYSE:BDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.24. Belden had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Equities analysts anticipate that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. Belden’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.16%.

Insider Transactions at Belden

In related news, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 23,243 shares in the company, valued at $2,667,599.11. This represents a 9.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total transaction of $441,882.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,776.79. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock worth $2,589,774. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

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.