Short Interest in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) Declines By 13.8%

Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,030,000 shares, a decrease of 13.8% from the January 31st total of 8,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,530,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Analog Devices in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Analog Devices from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Analog Devices from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Analog Devices from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Analog Devices from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Analog Devices currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.41.

Insider Activity at Analog Devices

In other news, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $2,154,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 21,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,737,116.67. This trade represents a 31.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Analog Devices

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Analog Devices by 1.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,708,427 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $623,399,000 after acquiring an additional 39,186 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Analog Devices by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,472,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $339,012,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Analog Devices by 47.7% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 22,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,264,000 after acquiring an additional 7,386 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Analog Devices during the fourth quarter worth about $460,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Analog Devices during the third quarter worth about $867,000. 86.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analog Devices Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ:ADI opened at $222.77 on Friday. Analog Devices has a twelve month low of $182.57 and a twelve month high of $247.10. The company has a market cap of $110.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Analog Devices had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 16.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Analog Devices will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.99 dividend. This is an increase from Analog Devices’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Analog Devices’s payout ratio is presently 126.11%.

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

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.