South Dakota Investment Council Acquires 11,000 Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned approximately 0.16% of Belden worth $4,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BDC. PFG Advisors bought a new position in Belden during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $238,000. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Belden by 14.6% in the third quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its stake in Belden by 25.9% in the third quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 8,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $793,000 after buying an additional 1,687 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Belden by 12.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 23,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after buying an additional 2,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its stake in Belden by 1.9% in the third quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 29,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,811,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE BDC traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 132,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,412. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Belden Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.54 and a fifty-two week high of $99.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.31.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.34. Belden had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 25.11%. The company had revenue of $551.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $522.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Belden Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. Belden’s payout ratio is 3.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 2,056 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.30, for a total value of $169,208.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,791,835.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Belden from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Belden from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.25.

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.