Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $255.41.

A number of brokerages have commented on ADI. Benchmark increased their target price on Analog Devices from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on Analog Devices from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on 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 Analog Devices in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Analog Devices Price Performance

Shares of Analog Devices stock opened at $229.47 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.22. Analog Devices has a 12 month low of $182.57 and a 12 month high of $247.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.08, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

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

Analog Devices declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This is a positive change from Analog Devices’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Analog Devices’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.11%.

Insider Transactions at Analog Devices

In other news, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $2,154,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,983 shares in the company, valued at $4,737,116.67. This trade represents a 31.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Analog Devices

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Analog Devices by 1.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,708,427 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $623,399,000 after acquiring an additional 39,186 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Analog Devices by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,472,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $339,012,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Analog Devices by 47.7% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 22,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,264,000 after acquiring an additional 7,386 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Analog Devices in the fourth quarter valued at $460,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Analog Devices in the third quarter valued at $867,000. 86.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.