Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Lowers Holdings in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its stake in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,059 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Analog Devices were worth $17,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ADI. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Analog Devices by 14.9% in the 3rd 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 period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Analog Devices by 807.5% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 959,686 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $220,891,000 after purchasing an additional 853,931 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Analog Devices by 336.4% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,068,572 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $245,953,000 after purchasing an additional 823,709 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Analog Devices by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,754,759 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,078,617,000 after purchasing an additional 700,862 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Analog Devices by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,388,628 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,700,640,000 after purchasing an additional 665,149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ADI. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Analog Devices in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price target on Analog Devices from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Analog Devices in a report on Thursday. Lake Street Capital began coverage on Analog Devices in a report on Friday, February 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Analog Devices from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. 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.com, Analog Devices presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.41.

Insider Transactions at Analog Devices

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

Analog Devices Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Analog Devices stock opened at $238.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.09, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.04. Analog Devices, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.57 and a fifty-two week high of $247.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $215.50 and a 200 day moving average of $220.34.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.63 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Analog Devices, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Analog Devices’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 117.20%.

Analog Devices declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.