Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 34.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 33,137 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Belden were worth $14,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Belden by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Belden by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Belden by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Belden by 72.3% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Belden by 624.8% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.25.

Insider Transactions at Belden

In related news, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 $441,776.79. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,129 shares in the company, valued at $11,939,527.05. This trade represents a 11.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774 in the last ninety days. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Belden Price Performance

Shares of BDC stock opened at $104.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.57 and its 200 day moving average is $114.76. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70 and a beta of 1.02. Belden Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.90 and a twelve month high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Research analysts expect that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 0.19%. Belden’s payout ratio is 4.16%.

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.