Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Invests $615,000 in Dolby Laboratories $DLB

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,493 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $615,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Dolby Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 590.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 504 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Dolby Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dolby Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Dolby Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dolby Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:DLB opened at $64.90 on Friday. Dolby Laboratories has a one year low of $60.14 and a one year high of $85.45. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.43.

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

Dolby Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Dolby Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 58.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Yeaman sold 6,751 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $453,937.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,377 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,869.48. The trade was a 6.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Andrew Sherman sold 2,491 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.26, for a total transaction of $167,544.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 70,563 shares in the company, valued at $4,746,067.38. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,120 shares of company stock worth $9,184,809. 37.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.