Entropy Technologies LP Buys Shares of 2,400 Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Belden by 72.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Belden by 4.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Belden by 7.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Belden by 97.7% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Belden by 0.6% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.77, for a total value of $275,448.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,243 shares in the company, valued at $2,667,599.11. This trade represents a 9.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Belden Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BDC opened at $114.46 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.45. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.92. Belden Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.64 and a 52-week high of $131.82.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.24. Belden had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 8.06%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Belden Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. Belden’s payout ratio is currently 4.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BDC shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on Belden from $124.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Belden from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $130.25.

About Belden

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.