AXQ Capital LP Buys Shares of 1,859 Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BDC. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Belden by 53.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 1,145 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Belden by 97.7% in the 3rd 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. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Belden by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 3,669 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Belden by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,801,000 after purchasing an additional 19,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Belden by 32.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. 98.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Belden Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDC opened at $105.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.85. Belden Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.90 and a 1-year 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%. Analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 4.16%.

Insider Activity at Belden

In related news, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.77, for a total value of $275,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,667,599.11. This represents a 9.36 % 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 Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $441,882.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,776.79. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774 over the last quarter. 1.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.