Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Sells 3,453 Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lessened its holdings in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 33.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,453 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Belden were worth $773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDC. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Belden by 157.5% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,801,000 after acquiring an additional 19,849 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Belden by 32.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Belden by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Belden by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 101,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,851,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Belden by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Stock Up 3.4 %

BDC stock opened at $104.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 1.02. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.90.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last issued its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio is 4.16%.

Insider Activity at Belden

In other news, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total value of $1,619,925.75. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 4,199 shares in the company, valued at $441,776.79. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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