Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Stock Holdings Lessened by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 285,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 123,037 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Belden were worth $32,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 97.7% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $234,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,480. This trade represents a 17.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,939,527.05. This represents a 11.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock worth $2,589,774. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Belden Price Performance

BDC opened at $103.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $112.16 and a 200-day moving average of $114.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.02. Belden Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.90 and a 12-month high of $131.82. 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 (NYSE:BDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.24. Belden had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 8.06%. Equities analysts forecast that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BDC. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Belden presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.25.

Belden 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.