Belden (NYSE:BDC) Rating Lowered to "Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Belden (NYSE:BDC - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Belden presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $130.25.Get Our Latest Report on BDCBelden Stock Down 4.3 %BDC stock opened at $88.99 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $107.97 and its 200 day moving average is $114.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.07. 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 has a 1-year low of $80.90 and a 1-year high of $131.82. Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.24. Belden had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year. Belden Dividend AnnouncementThe business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Belden's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.16%. Insider Activity at BeldenIn related news, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total value of $1,619,925.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,939,527.05. This trade represents a 11.95 % 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 link. Also, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.77, for a total value of $275,448.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,667,599.11. The trade was a 9.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock worth $2,589,774 in the last ninety days. 1.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On BeldenSeveral hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BDC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Belden in the fourth quarter worth $54,167,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Belden by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,224 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $530,418,000 after purchasing an additional 223,887 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Belden during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,511,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Belden by 234.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 224,363 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,266,000 after buying an additional 157,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Belden by 380.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 166,354 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,726,000 after buying an additional 131,719 shares during the period. 98.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Belden Company Profile (Get Free Report)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.Further ReadingFive stocks we like better than BeldenWhat Investors Must Know About Over-the-Counter (OTC) StocksArcher Aviation’s Africa Deal Could Boost ACHR StockWhat is a penny stock? A comprehensive guideAre Short Sellers Wrong About These 3 Semiconductor Stocks?Investing in Construction StocksBoeing Gets $50B in March Orders—Is BA Stock a Buy Now?This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.Should You Invest $1,000 in Belden Right Now?Before you consider Belden, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Belden wasn't on the list.While Belden currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here