Axa S.A. Decreases Stake in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Axa S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 981 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Belden worth $5,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Belden during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,167,000. Polen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Belden during the fourth quarter worth $2,723,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter worth $443,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter valued at $387,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Belden by 189.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,386,000 after purchasing an additional 52,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDC opened at $103.77 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $99.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.24. Belden Inc. has a one year low of $83.18 and a one year high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $624.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $615.81 million. Belden had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were 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 was Thursday, March 13th. Belden’s payout ratio is currently 3.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $275,448.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,243 shares in the company, valued at $2,667,599.11. This trade represents a 9.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total value of $441,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,776.79. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774. 1.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Belden in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $126.20.

About Belden

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.