Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 44,818 Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 29.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 107,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 44,818 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Belden worth $12,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Belden in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Belden by 72.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Belden during the third quarter worth $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Belden by 97.7% in 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. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Belden in the 2nd quarter valued at about $141,000. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Belden news, CAO Doug Zink sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.82, for a total value of $386,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,643 shares in the company, valued at $855,751.26. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Belden Stock Down 1.7 %

BDC stock opened at $113.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Belden Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.20 and a twelve month high of $131.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $119.88 and its 200-day moving average is $108.41.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.09. Belden had a return on equity of 20.55% and a net margin of 7.61%. The business had revenue of $654.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.63 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Belden Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDC. Truist Financial upped their price target on Belden from $124.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark increased their target price on Belden from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $122.75.

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.