Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, a growth of 88.5% from the February 28th total of 594,200 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 505,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Dolby Laboratories Trading Down 2.1 %

DLB stock traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.94. 263,254 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 441,990. The company has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.26. Dolby Laboratories has a twelve month low of $66.35 and a twelve month high of $89.66.

Dolby Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Dolby Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DLB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Dolby Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Activity at Dolby Laboratories

In other news, CAO Ryan Nicholson sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.07, for a total transaction of $588,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,501,755.06. This represents a 19.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Todd Pendleton sold 18,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.75, for a total transaction of $1,517,633.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 37,290 shares in the company, valued at $3,123,037.50. This represents a 32.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,121 shares of company stock valued at $5,501,324. 38.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 360 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 436.2% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 370 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 528 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dolby Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 207.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.56% of the company’s stock.

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.