Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) Raises Dividend to $0.33 Per Share

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 19th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.33 per share by the electronics maker on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Dolby Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Dolby Laboratories has increased its dividend by an average of 8.1% annually over the last three years. Dolby Laboratories has a payout ratio of 52.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Dolby Laboratories to earn $2.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.0%.

Dolby Laboratories Stock Performance

DLB stock opened at $78.32 on Monday. Dolby Laboratories has a 52 week low of $66.35 and a 52 week high of $90.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.90. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90 and a beta of 0.98.

Dolby Laboratories declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $350.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the electronics maker to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Dolby Laboratories

In other news, SVP John D. Couling sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total transaction of $563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,597,883. The trade was a 6.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin J. Yeaman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.54, for a total value of $4,027,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 83,721 shares in the company, valued at $6,742,889.34. This trade represents a 37.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 152,091 shares of company stock valued at $12,027,697. Company insiders own 39.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DLB shares. StockNews.com cut Dolby Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Dolby Laboratories from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

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.