Foster & Motley Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Belden worth $4,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Belden during the third quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Belden by 72.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Belden during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted 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 worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Belden by 27.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Price Performance

Belden stock opened at $116.23 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $118.24 and a 200-day moving average of $112.02. Belden Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.91 and a 52-week high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.09. Belden had a return on equity of 20.55% and a net margin of 7.61%. The company had revenue of $654.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.63 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Belden Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Belden’s payout ratio is currently 4.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Belden in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Belden from $124.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Doug Zink sold 3,000 shares of Belden stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.82, for a total transaction of $386,460.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $855,751.26. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.