Norges Bank Takes $54.17 Million Position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 481,017 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $54,167,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.19% of Belden at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 111,952 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Belden by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,574,784 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $184,532,000 after acquiring an additional 100,145 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Belden by 169.6% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 146,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,477,000 after acquiring an additional 92,037 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Belden by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 230,170 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,387,000 after acquiring an additional 69,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Belden by 10.6% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 708,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,939,000 after purchasing an additional 68,151 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Belden Trading Up 12.8 %

NYSE BDC traded up $11.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.28. 458,623 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,572. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 1.07. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.90 and a 1-year high of $131.82. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $105.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.02.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued 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 payout ratio is currently 4.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of Belden stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total value of $441,882.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,776.79. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total value of $1,619,925.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,939,527.05. This trade represents a 11.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774. Insiders own 1.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $130.25.

Belden 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.