Barclays PLC Grows Position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) by 121.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 177,397 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 97,265 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.44% of Belden worth $19,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Belden by 5.0% during the fourth 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 shares of Belden by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 708,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,939,000 after purchasing an additional 68,151 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,167,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Belden by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 294,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,212,000 after purchasing an additional 111,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Belden by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 277,555 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,255,000 after purchasing an additional 7,600 shares during the period. 98.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Belden

In related news, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of Belden stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,243 shares in the company, valued at $2,667,599.11. This trade represents a 9.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774. 1.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Belden Price Performance

Shares of BDC stock traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $96.94. The stock had a trading volume of 287,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,456. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $101.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.62. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 1.07. Belden Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.02 and a 12 month high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.21%. Belden's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BDC shares. Loop Capital cut their price target on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Belden from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Belden currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.20.

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.