Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning, Analyst Ratings.Net reports.

According to Zacks, “Belden Inc is engaged in the design, manufacture and retail of cable, connectivity, and networking products in markets including industrial automation, enterprise, transportation, infrastructure, and consumer electronics. The Company’s products find its application in the industrial automation, enterprise, education, healthcare, entertainment and broadcast, sound and security, transportation, infrastructure, consumer electronics and other industries. Belden has manufacturing capabilities in North America, Europe, and Asia, and a market presence in nearly every region of the world. Belden Inc is based in St. Louis, Missouri. “

A number of hedge funds have made changes to their positions in the stock. Simplex Trading acquired a new stake in shares of Belden during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $0. BB&T Securities acquired a new stake in shares of Belden during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Belden during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $553,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Belden by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 21,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Belden by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 26,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after buying an additional 9,200 shares during the last quarter.

Separately, Canaccord Genuity reissued a buy rating and set a $73.50 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Belden in a research report on Tuesday, December 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $87.20.

Shares of Belden (NYSE:BDC) opened at 42.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.88 and a 200-day moving average of $53.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion and a PE ratio of 56.51. Belden has a 52 week low of $37.52 and a 52 week high of $95.56.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 14th.

Belden Inc. is a signal transmission solutions provider. The Company’s portfolio of signal transmission solutions provides industry secure and reliable transmission of data, sound, and video for mission critical applications. The Company operates in four segments: Broadcast Solutions, which provides production, distribution, and connectivity systems for television broadcast, cable, satellite and IPTV industries; Enterprise Connectivity Solutions, which provides network infrastructure solutions for enterprise customers; Industrial Connectivity Solutions, which provides infrastructure components and connectivity systems for a range of industrial automation applications and Industrial IT Solutions, which provides mission-critical networking systems. Its brands include Belden, Alpha Wire, Mohawk, West Penn Wire, Hirschmann, SignalTight, GarrettCom, Poliron, Tofino, PPC, Grass Valley, ProSoft Technology and Tripwire. It sells products to distributors, end-users, installers and OEMs.

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