Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 44,818 Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 107,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 44,818 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Belden were worth $12,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Belden by 3.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Belden during the 2nd quarter worth about $788,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Belden in the 2nd quarter worth about $141,000. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Belden by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 32,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,081,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Belden by 13.3% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 38,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,611,000 after buying an additional 4,533 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Belden Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDC opened at $113.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $119.88 and its 200 day moving average is $108.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39 and a beta of 1.08. Belden Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.20 and a 1-year high of $131.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Belden Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.65%.

Insider Transactions at Belden

In other Belden news, CAO Doug Zink sold 3,000 shares of Belden stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.82, for a total value of $386,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $855,751.26. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted 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. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Belden from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.75.

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.