Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 2,093 Shares of Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI)

Merit Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) by 43.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,711 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,093 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Analog Devices were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 444,961 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,351,000 after buying an additional 14,124 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,237 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Analog Devices during the 4th quarter worth $219,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Analog Devices by 253.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 71,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,108,000 after buying an additional 50,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Running Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Analog Devices by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 47,717 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,475,000 after purchasing an additional 6,611 shares during the last quarter. 86.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Analog Devices

In other news, Director James Champy sold 1,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.64, for a total value of $242,701.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,164.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director James Champy sold 1,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.64, for a total value of $242,701.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,164.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vivek Jain sold 3,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.56, for a total value of $687,311.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,982.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,707 shares of company stock valued at $4,874,613. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analog Devices Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ ADI opened at $203.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Analog Devices, Inc. has a one year low of $154.99 and a one year high of $205.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.14.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The semiconductor company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.02. Analog Devices had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 24.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Analog Devices, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This is a boost from Analog Devices’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Analog Devices’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ADI shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Analog Devices from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Analog Devices from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Analog Devices from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Analog Devices in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $254.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.17.

Analog Devices Profile

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.