Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,805 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 5,086 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Analog Devices were worth $22,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADI. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 22,005.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,073,252 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $652,943,000 after buying an additional 3,059,349 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,176,877 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,169,689,000 after buying an additional 1,189,940 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 807.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 959,686 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $220,891,000 after buying an additional 853,931 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 336.4% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,068,572 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $245,953,000 after buying an additional 823,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,754,759 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,078,617,000 after buying an additional 700,862 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ADI. Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Friday, February 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Analog Devices from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Analog Devices from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Williams Trading set a $245.00 price target on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Analog Devices presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.41.

Insider Activity at Analog Devices

In related news, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $2,154,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,737,116.67. This represents a 31.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analog Devices Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADI opened at $233.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Analog Devices, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.57 and a fifty-two week high of $247.10. The stock has a market cap of $115.92 billion, a PE ratio of 74.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.90.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09. Analog Devices had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Analog Devices, Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Analog Devices’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Analog Devices’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.11%.

Analog Devices announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Analog Devices

Analog Devices, Inc designs, manufactures, tests, and markets integrated circuits (ICs), software, and subsystems products in the United States, rest of North and South America, Europe, Japan, China, and rest of Asia. The company provides data converter products, which translate real-world analog signals into digital data, as well as translates digital data into analog signals; power management and reference products for power conversion, driver monitoring, sequencing, and energy management applications in the automotive, communications, industrial, and consumer markets; and power ICs that include performance, integration, and software design simulation tools for accurate power supply designs.