Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, an increase of 88.5% from the February 28th total of 594,200 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 505,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Dolby Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of DLB traded down $1.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.94. The company had a trading volume of 263,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,990. Dolby Laboratories has a 1 year low of $66.35 and a 1 year high of $89.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39 and a beta of 1.01.

Dolby Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Dolby Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Dolby Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity at Dolby Laboratories

In other Dolby Laboratories news, EVP Mark Andrew Sherman sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.88, for a total value of $3,395,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 62,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,296,257.36. This trade represents a 39.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ryan Nicholson sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.07, for a total transaction of $588,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,501,755.06. This trade represents a 19.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,121 shares of company stock valued at $5,501,324 over the last ninety days. 38.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dolby Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,826,477 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $376,948,000 after buying an additional 1,887,518 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Dolby Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,356,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Dolby Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $27,314,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dolby Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,323,000. Finally, Oberweis Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Dolby Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $14,136,000. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Dolby Laboratories

Dolby Laboratories, Inc creates audio and imaging technologies that transform entertainment at the cinema, DTV transmissions and devices, mobile devices, OTT video and music services, home entertainment devices, and automobiles. The company develops and licenses its audio technologies, such as AAC & HE-AAC, a digital audio codec solution used for a range of media applications; AVC, a digital video codec with high bandwidth efficiency used in various media devices; Dolby AC-4, a digital audio coding technology that delivers new audio experiences to a range of playback devices; and Dolby Atmos technology for cinema and various media devices.