Magnetar Financial LLC Takes Position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Belden by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Belden by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Belden by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,843 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 31.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.75% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BDC shares. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Belden from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.25.

Belden Price Performance

NYSE BDC traded down $0.77 on Thursday, reaching $104.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 242,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 257,065. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Belden Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.90 and a 52 week high of $131.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.83.

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

Belden Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. Belden's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Belden news, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 2,129 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $234,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,480. The trade was a 17.60 % 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Belden Company 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.