Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) Short Interest Update

Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,240,000 shares, a drop of 14.8% from the March 15th total of 8,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ADI shares. Maxim Group started coverage on Analog Devices in a report on Friday, February 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Analog Devices in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Analog Devices from $230.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Analog Devices in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Analog Devices from $275.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $250.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Analog Devices

In other Analog Devices news, Director Ray Stata sold 3,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.21, for a total transaction of $563,156.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,321 shares in the company, valued at $33,576,907.41. This trade represents a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vivek Jain sold 12,684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $2,663,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,809 shares of company stock worth $6,154,756. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Analog Devices during the fourth quarter valued at $1,755,958,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Analog Devices during the 4th quarter valued at about $833,386,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Analog Devices by 22,005.0% in the fourth 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. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Analog Devices by 25,460.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,211,715 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $446,037,000 after buying an additional 2,203,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Analog Devices by 14.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,176,877 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,169,689,000 after buying an additional 1,189,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.81% of the company's stock.

Analog Devices Trading Up 6.0 %

NASDAQ:ADI traded up $10.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $194.08. The company had a trading volume of 3,123,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,461,736. 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 has a 52 week low of $158.65 and a 52 week high of $247.10. The company has a market capitalization of $96.26 billion, a PE ratio of 61.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $204.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.32.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. Analog Devices had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. Analog Devices's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Analog Devices will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analog Devices declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This is a boost from Analog Devices's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Analog Devices's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.11%.

Analog Devices Company Profile

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.