Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,777,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 354,984 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Belden were worth $200,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter worth about $54,167,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Belden by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 294,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,212,000 after purchasing an additional 111,952 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Belden by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,574,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $184,532,000 after purchasing an additional 100,145 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Belden by 169.6% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 146,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,477,000 after purchasing an additional 92,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Belden by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 230,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,387,000 after purchasing an additional 69,365 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.77, for a total transaction of $275,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,243 shares in the company, valued at $2,667,599.11. This represents a 9.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock worth $2,589,774 over the last 90 days. 1.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Belden Price Performance

Belden stock opened at $104.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Belden Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.90 and a 52-week high of $131.82. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.90.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BDC. StockNews.com raised shares of Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Belden in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Belden presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.25.

Belden 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.