Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 131,469 Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,276,344 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 131,469 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 3.16% of Belden worth $143,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Belden during the 4th quarter worth about $54,167,000. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 223,887 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 294,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,212,000 after acquiring an additional 111,952 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Belden by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 177,397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $19,977,000 after purchasing an additional 97,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Belden by 169.6% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 146,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,477,000 after purchasing an additional 92,037 shares during the period. 98.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Belden Price Performance

Belden stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $102.81. 83,068 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,234. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.09. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 1.07. 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 twelve month low of $81.02 and a twelve month high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts expect that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,776.79. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 2,129 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $234,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,480. This trade represents a 17.60 % decrease in their position. 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. 1.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Belden from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Belden presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.