Front Row Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI)

Front Row Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Analog Devices makes up about 0.9% of Front Row Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Front Row Advisors LLC’s holdings in Analog Devices were worth $2,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Analog Devices by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,105,529 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,432,961,000 after buying an additional 413,084 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Analog Devices by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,571,586 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,195,302,000 after acquiring an additional 106,664 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Analog Devices by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,612,183 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,248,971,000 after acquiring an additional 247,737 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Analog Devices by 14.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,176,877 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,169,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Analog Devices in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,755,958,000. 86.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analog Devices Stock Performance

Shares of ADI opened at $201.67 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $182.57 and a 52-week high of $247.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.35. The company has a market capitalization of $100.02 billion, a PE ratio of 64.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09. The company 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Analog Devices, Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.99 dividend. This is an increase from Analog Devices’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Analog Devices’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.11%.

Analog Devices announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Analog Devices from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Friday, February 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Analog Devices from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Analog Devices from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Analog Devices from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.41.

Insider Activity

In other Analog Devices news, EVP Vivek Jain sold 12,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 owns 43,175 shares in the company, valued at $9,066,750. This trade represents a 22.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,684 shares of company stock worth $7,746,500 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.