AXQ Capital LP Invests $209,000 in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDC. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Belden by 157.5% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,801,000 after acquiring an additional 19,849 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Belden by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 960,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,580,000 after purchasing an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Belden by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Belden during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,723,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Belden by 189.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,386,000 after buying an additional 52,439 shares during the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Belden Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of Belden stock opened at $105.42 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $80.90 and a twelve month high of $131.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.85.

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

Belden Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDC has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital cut their target price on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $130.25.

Insider Transactions at Belden

In related news, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of Belden stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total transaction of $441,882.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,776.79. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 2,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $234,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,480. The trade was a 17.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

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.