Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,676 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Belden were worth $2,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BDC. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Belden in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Belden by 72.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Belden during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Belden by 97.7% during 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 during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Belden by 27.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Belden news, CAO Doug Zink sold 1,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.49, for a total transaction of $155,556.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,132,956.07. The trade was a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Belden Stock Performance

Shares of Belden stock opened at $121.82 on Thursday. Belden Inc. has a one year low of $72.91 and a one year high of $131.82. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.16.

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

Belden Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Belden’s payout ratio is 4.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BDC shares. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Belden from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Belden from $124.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.