Short Interest in Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) Expands By 88.5%

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, an increase of 88.5% from the February 28th total of 594,200 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 505,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on DLB. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Dolby Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark Andrew Sherman sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.88, for a total transaction of $3,395,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 62,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,296,257.36. This represents a 39.06 % 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. Insiders sold a total of 65,121 shares of company stock valued at $5,501,324 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 38.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dolby Laboratories

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,826,477 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $376,948,000 after buying an additional 1,887,518 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Dolby Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,356,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Dolby Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $27,314,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Dolby Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,323,000. Finally, Oberweis Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dolby Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,136,000. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dolby Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of DLB stock traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $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 P/E ratio of 29.39 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.26. Dolby Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $66.35 and a fifty-two week high of $89.66.

Dolby Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

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.