Brokerages Set Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Price Target at $130.25

Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $128.20.

A number of brokerages recently commented on BDC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Belden from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Belden Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of BDC stock opened at $93.58 on Thursday. Belden has a 1-year low of $80.90 and a 1-year high of $131.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $103.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last posted 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.42%. On average, analysts predict that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. Belden’s payout ratio is 4.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,776.79. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 2,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock worth $2,589,774. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Belden

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Belden by 9.6% during 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. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Belden by 34.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Belden by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Belden by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Belden by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

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.