Brokerages Set Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) Target Price at $255.41

Shares of Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $255.41.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Analog Devices from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Analog Devices from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Maxim Group started coverage on Analog Devices in a report on Friday, February 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Benchmark raised their price target on Analog Devices from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $245.00 price objective on Analog Devices in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Analog Devices

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ADI. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Analog Devices in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Analog Devices during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Analog Devices in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Analog Devices in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Analog Devices in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.81% of the company’s stock.

Analog Devices Trading Up 2.7 %

Analog Devices stock opened at $229.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $113.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.19, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.04. 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 1 year low of $182.57 and a 1 year high of $247.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $217.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.07.

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

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Analog Devices’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.11%.

Analog Devices announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership 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.