Short Interest in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) Drops By 14.8%

Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,240,000 shares, a decrease 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. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ADI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Analog Devices from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Analog Devices from $230.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Maxim Group initiated coverage on Analog Devices in a research note on Friday, February 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Benchmark lifted their target price on Analog Devices from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Analog Devices in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Analog Devices has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.14.

Analog Devices Stock Performance

Shares of ADI stock opened at $178.50 on Wednesday. Analog Devices has a 12-month low of $158.65 and a 12-month high of $247.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $88.53 billion, a PE ratio of 56.85, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) last released its quarterly 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Analog Devices will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.22%. Analog Devices’s payout ratio is 126.11%.

Analog Devices announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Analog Devices

In related news, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of Analog Devices stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 owns 64,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,575,652.16. This trade represents a 13.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vivek Jain sold 12,684 shares of the company’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 value of $2,663,640.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,066,750. This trade represents a 22.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,809 shares of company stock valued at $6,154,756. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Analog Devices

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Analog Devices by 52.0% during the first quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 558 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Analog Devices by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 29,855 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,021,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in shares of Analog Devices by 209.8% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 189 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 30.9% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 14,414 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,907,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Analog Devices by 18.8% in the first quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,454 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.81% of the company’s stock.

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.