Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB) by 54.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,973 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 4,658 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bel Fuse were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 319.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,008 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 12,192 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Bel Fuse by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,321 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 8,442 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 289,298 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $22,716,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 80.7% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 17,742 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 47.7% during the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 75,785 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,950,000 after purchasing an additional 24,490 shares during the last quarter. 58.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BELFB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Northland Securities upped their price target on shares of Bel Fuse from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Bel Fuse from $79.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut Bel Fuse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Bel Fuse in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $98.33.

Insider Activity at Bel Fuse

In other Bel Fuse news, VP Joseph Francis Berry sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.30, for a total transaction of $80,300.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,023 shares in the company, valued at $644,246.90. This represents a 11.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephen Dawson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $116,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,151,704.80. The trade was a 9.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bel Fuse Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BELFB opened at $80.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 4.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.23. Bel Fuse Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.74 and a 52-week high of $92.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 1.30.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Bel Fuse’s payout ratio is currently 6.42%.

About Bel Fuse

Bel Fuse Inc designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that power, protect, and connect electronic circuits. The company’s products are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries.