Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 175 Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,173 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Belden were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BDC. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Belden in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Belden by 97.7% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Belden by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Belden by 27.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, 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 worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BDC opened at $110.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89 and a beta of 1.08. Belden Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.90 and a 1 year high of $131.82. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.88.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Belden

In other Belden news, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,667,599.11. This trade represents a 9.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total value of $1,619,925.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,939,527.05. This represents a 11.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,228 shares of company stock valued at $2,147,892. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BDC shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 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.