Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $70.91, but opened at $75.50. Dolby Laboratories shares last traded at $77.89, with a volume of 199,003 shares trading hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is a boost from Dolby Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Dolby Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 54.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DLB shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Dolby Laboratories from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Dolby Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday.

Dolby Laboratories Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.94 and a 200-day moving average of $76.05. The company has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.45 and a beta of 0.98.

Dolby Laboratories announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $350.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the electronics maker to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Dolby Laboratories

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Yeaman sold 28,512 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $2,113,309.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 83,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,205,400.52. The trade was a 25.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 39.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dolby Laboratories

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 398.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 414 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Dolby Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Dolby Laboratories by 64.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 489 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 192.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 576 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Dolby Laboratories by 22.7% during 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 in the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.