Short Interest in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Decreases By 17.9%

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 895,300 shares, a decrease of 17.9% from the February 13th total of 1,090,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 273,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Belden

In related news, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,939,527.05. This represents a 11.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $234,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,480. The trade was a 17.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Belden

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Belden during the 4th quarter worth about $398,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Belden during the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Belden during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 5,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 121,730 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,708,000 after buying an additional 20,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company's stock.

Belden Stock Performance

BDC stock traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $101.91. The stock had a trading volume of 705,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,650. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.65. Belden has a fifty-two week low of $80.90 and a fifty-two week high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. Analysts predict that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Belden's payout ratio is 4.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital reduced 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. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Belden from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.25.

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.