Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $265.00 to $235.00. The stock had previously closed at $178.36, but opened at $172.13. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Analog Devices shares last traded at $173.38, with a volume of 863,087 shares trading hands.

ADI has been the topic of several other reports. Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Analog Devices in a report on Friday, February 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Analog Devices from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target (up from $245.00) on shares of Analog Devices in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Analog Devices from $230.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $245.00 target price on shares of Analog Devices in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.73.

Insider Activity at Analog Devices

In related news, CFO Richard C. Puccio, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of Analog Devices stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.19, for a total transaction of $836,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,441,928.04. This trade represents a 7.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 64,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,575,652.16. This trade represents a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,684 shares of company stock worth $5,591,600 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Analog Devices

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ADI. Broderick Brian C raised its position in Analog Devices by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 79,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Analog Devices in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $460,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Analog Devices by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 107,650 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,871,000 after buying an additional 6,566 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,404,000 after buying an additional 2,554 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Analog Devices in the 3rd quarter valued at $20,194,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.81% of the company’s stock.

Analog Devices Stock Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $88.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.06, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.04. 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 (NASDAQ:ADI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Analog Devices, Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.99 dividend. This is an increase from Analog Devices’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Analog Devices’s payout ratio is presently 126.11%.

Analog Devices announced that its board has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.