Natixis Cuts Stock Position in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI)

Natixis lessened its stake in shares of Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI - Free Report) by 49.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,105 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 46,268 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Analog Devices were worth $10,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Analog Devices by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,105,529 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $10,432,961,000 after purchasing an additional 413,084 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Analog Devices by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,612,183 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,248,971,000 after buying an additional 247,737 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Analog Devices by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,176,877 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,169,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,940 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Analog Devices in the 4th quarter valued at $1,755,958,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Analog Devices by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,450,018 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,582,831,000 after acquiring an additional 61,390 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Analog Devices

In other news, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.12, for a total value of $2,091,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 64,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,575,652.16. This represents a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vivek Jain sold 12,684 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $2,663,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,066,750. This trade represents a 22.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,809 shares of company stock valued at $6,154,756. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analog Devices Price Performance

NASDAQ ADI traded up $12.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $195.23. The stock had a trading volume of 5,604,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,471,054. The firm's 50 day moving average is $204.15 and its 200 day moving average is $213.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.18, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06. Analog Devices, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.65 and a twelve month high of $247.10.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Analog Devices had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Analog Devices, Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analog Devices declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Analog Devices's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Analog Devices's dividend payout ratio is 126.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Analog Devices from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on Analog Devices from $240.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $214.00 price objective on Analog Devices in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $250.43.

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.