Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Has $773,000 Position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lessened its stake in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 33.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,453 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Belden were worth $773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BDC. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Belden by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Belden by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Belden by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Belden by 72.3% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in Belden by 624.8% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Stock Performance

NYSE BDC opened at $104.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Belden Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.90 and a 12-month high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.24. Belden had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that Belden Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Belden’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $130.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.77, for a total transaction of $275,448.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,667,599.11. The trade was a 9.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total transaction of $1,619,925.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,939,527.05. This trade represents a 11.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock worth $2,589,774. 1.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.