AdvisorShares Investments LLC Takes $503,000 Position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Belden during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Belden during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Belden by 662.2% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Belden by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 98.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Belden

In other news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total transaction of $74,741.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,031 shares in the company, valued at $1,919,289.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Nancy E. Calderon sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.98, for a total transaction of $239,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,444.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lieser sold 819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total transaction of $74,741.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,919,289.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,137 shares of company stock worth $1,095,457. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BDC shares. Benchmark lifted their target price on Belden from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Belden from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Belden in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Belden from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.67.

Belden Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDC opened at $99.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $97.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.05. Belden Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.54 and a 52 week high of $108.64.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.14. Belden had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 8.51%. The business had revenue of $604.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Belden Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. Belden’s payout ratio is currently 3.91%.

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.