Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $58.13 and last traded at $58.6210, with a volume of 697088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Dolby Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barrington Research reduced their price target on shares of Dolby Laboratories from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.75.

Dolby Laboratories Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.23.

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. Dolby Laboratories had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 17.97%.The firm had revenue of $346.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Dolby Laboratories’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Dolby Laboratories will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Dolby Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Dolby Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Shriram Revankar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total transaction of $198,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 83,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,504,038.52. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ryan Nicholson sold 2,667 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.38, for a total transaction of $177,035.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,453,139.28. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 37.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dolby Laboratories

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DLB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Dolby Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $54,966,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 51.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736,260 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $128,935,000 after purchasing an additional 592,282 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Dolby Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $23,477,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,880,528 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $120,768,000 after buying an additional 361,871 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 2,017.9% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,499 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $20,904,000 after buying an additional 310,130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.56% of the company’s stock.

Dolby Laboratories Company Profile

Dolby Laboratories, Inc is a global leader in audio and imaging technologies, specializing in the development, licensing and deployment of solutions that enhance entertainment and communications experiences. The company’s core business revolves around creating advanced audio codecs, noise reduction systems and spatial sound technologies for a wide range of applications, including cinema, broadcast, gaming, streaming and personal devices. Dolby’s licensing model enables consumer electronics manufacturers, content creators and service providers to integrate its technologies into products such as televisions, smartphones, home theater systems and set-top boxes.

Among its flagship innovations are Dolby Atmos, an immersive audio format that delivers three-dimensional soundscapes for theaters and home systems; Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus, widely adopted audio compression formats for broadcast and streaming; and Dolby Vision, a high-dynamic-range imaging technology that expands color, contrast and brightness in displays.