Securian Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Belden were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Belden by 157.5% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,801,000 after acquiring an additional 19,849 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Belden by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 960,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $112,580,000 after acquiring an additional 5,727 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Belden by 32.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Belden by 189.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,386,000 after purchasing an additional 52,439 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Belden by 15.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 182,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,432,000 after purchasing an additional 23,936 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 17.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total value of $441,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,199 shares in the company, valued at $441,776.79. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,428 shares of company stock worth $2,589,774. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Belden Stock Performance

NYSE BDC opened at $103.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $112.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.82. Belden Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.90 and a twelve month high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.24. Belden had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 8.06%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Belden’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BDC. StockNews.com raised Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.