Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

DLB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Dolby Laboratories from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

Dolby Laboratories Stock Down 2.7 %

NYSE:DLB opened at $78.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86 and a beta of 0.98. Dolby Laboratories has a 12-month low of $66.35 and a 12-month high of $90.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.96.

Dolby Laboratories announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $350.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the electronics maker to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Dolby Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Dolby Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Dolby Laboratories’s payout ratio is 44.28%.

Insider Activity at Dolby Laboratories

In other news, CAO Ryan Nicholson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.18, for a total transaction of $841,890.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,953,505.52. This represents a 30.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John D. Couling sold 7,000 shares of Dolby Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total value of $563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,597,883. This represents a 6.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,091 shares of company stock valued at $12,027,697 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 39.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dolby Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in Dolby Laboratories by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,766 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 6.0% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Dolby Laboratories by 22.7% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 790 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Dolby Laboratories by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,817 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Dolby Laboratories

Dolby Laboratories, Inc creates audio and imaging technologies that transform entertainment at the cinema, DTV transmissions and devices, mobile devices, OTT video and music services, home entertainment devices, and automobiles. The company develops and licenses its audio technologies, such as AAC & HE-AAC, a digital audio codec solution used for a range of media applications; AVC, a digital video codec with high bandwidth efficiency used in various media devices; Dolby AC-4, a digital audio coding technology that delivers new audio experiences to a range of playback devices; and Dolby Atmos technology for cinema and various media devices.