Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Tigress Financial initiated coverage on Dolby Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Dolby Laboratories Stock Performance

DLB opened at $72.60 on Friday. Dolby Laboratories has a 52-week low of $66.35 and a 52-week high of $89.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.29.

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The electronics maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.06. Dolby Laboratories had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 19.62%. The company had revenue of $315.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Dolby Laboratories will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dolby Laboratories

In other Dolby Laboratories news, EVP Mark Andrew Sherman sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.02, for a total value of $1,125,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 62,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,681,022.94. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Yeaman sold 2,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $186,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 114,725 shares in the company, valued at $8,604,375. This trade represents a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,049 shares of company stock worth $8,713,391 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 38.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dolby Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 7.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,535,722 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $605,194,000 after acquiring an additional 502,110 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 18.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,709,193 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $458,505,000 after acquiring an additional 882,716 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,556,571 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $116,159,000 after purchasing an additional 30,057 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 1.7% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,160,661 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $86,172,000 after purchasing an additional 19,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 17.9% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,147,800 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $92,180,000 after purchasing an additional 174,373 shares during the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Dolby Laboratories Company Profile

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.