Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,059 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. 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 and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADI. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Analog Devices by 14.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,176,877 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,169,689,000 after buying an additional 1,189,940 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Analog Devices by 807.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 959,686 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $220,891,000 after buying an additional 853,931 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Analog Devices by 336.4% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,068,572 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $245,953,000 after buying an additional 823,709 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Analog Devices by 17.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,754,759 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,078,617,000 after buying an additional 700,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Analog Devices by 9.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,388,628 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,700,640,000 after buying an additional 665,149 shares in the last quarter. 86.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ADI shares. 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. TD Cowen cut their target price on Analog Devices from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Analog Devices from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Analog Devices from $230.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.41.

Analog Devices Price Performance

Shares of ADI opened at $238.91 on Friday. Analog Devices, Inc. has a twelve month low of $182.57 and a twelve month high of $247.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $215.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.49 billion, a PE ratio of 76.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Analog Devices, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Analog Devices’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Analog Devices’s payout ratio is 117.20%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Analog Devices

In other news, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.83, for a total transaction of $2,158,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,983 shares in the company, valued at $4,744,590.89. This represents a 31.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.