Hennessy Advisors Inc. Purchases 16,200 Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 43.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,200 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.13% of Belden worth $4,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BDC. South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in shares of Belden by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 64,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,993,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Belden by 588.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after purchasing an additional 29,585 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter worth $1,733,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of Belden by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 37,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after buying an additional 10,975 shares during the period. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L lifted its stake in Belden by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 53,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up previously from $101.00) on shares of Belden in a research report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Belden from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.00.

Belden Stock Performance

Shares of BDC traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $92.10. 297,825 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,286. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.18. Belden Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.54 and a 12-month high of $99.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 1.09.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.19. Belden had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $536.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Belden Inc. will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. Belden’s payout ratio is 3.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David J. Aldrich sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total transaction of $651,173.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 53,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,189,557.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Belden news, Director David J. Aldrich sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $651,173.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 53,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,189,557.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 1,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.50, for a total value of $104,381.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,308,732. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,400 shares of company stock valued at $911,900 in the last ninety days. 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.