Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB) by 54.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,973 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 4,658 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bel Fuse were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in Bel Fuse by 319.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,008 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 12,192 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bel Fuse by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 289,298 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $22,716,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 47.7% during the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 75,785 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,950,000 after purchasing an additional 24,490 shares in the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC grew its position in Bel Fuse by 49.6% in the third quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 47,034 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after acquiring an additional 15,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Bel Fuse in the third quarter valued at $288,000. 58.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Bel Fuse

In other Bel Fuse news, VP Joseph Francis Berry sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.30, for a total transaction of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,246.90. The trade was a 11.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Dawson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $116,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,151,704.80. The trade was a 9.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BELFB. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bel Fuse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 2nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Bel Fuse from $79.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Bel Fuse in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their target price on Bel Fuse from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $98.33.

Bel Fuse Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ BELFB opened at $80.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a current ratio of 4.00. Bel Fuse Inc. has a one year low of $45.74 and a one year high of $92.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 1.30.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.42%.

Bel Fuse Company Profile

Bel Fuse Inc designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that power, protect, and connect electronic circuits. The company’s products are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries.