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

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on DLB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Dolby Laboratories in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Baird R W raised shares of Dolby Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Dolby Laboratories from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on shares of Dolby Laboratories from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Dolby Laboratories in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Dolby Laboratories Stock Performance

DLB opened at $65.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.65. Dolby Laboratories has a 52-week low of $64.02 and a 52-week high of $89.66.

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The electronics maker reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $307.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $305.76 million. Dolby Laboratories had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 18.90%.The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Dolby Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.190-4.340 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.790-0.940 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Dolby Laboratories will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dolby Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were given a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from Dolby Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. Dolby Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.75%.

Insider Transactions at Dolby Laboratories

In related news, EVP Mark Andrew Sherman sold 9,109 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.73, for a total value of $607,843.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 73,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,874,893.42. This trade represents a 11.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Shriram Revankar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.55, for a total value of $196,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 67,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,420,364.25. This represents a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 162,120 shares of company stock valued at $10,906,559 over the last quarter. 37.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dolby Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Dolby Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $55,030,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 51.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736,260 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $128,935,000 after acquiring an additional 592,282 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Dolby Laboratories by 241,160.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 429,443 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $36,975,000 after purchasing an additional 429,265 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Dolby Laboratories by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,237,443 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $91,893,000 after purchasing an additional 322,063 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dolby Laboratories by 98.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 443,897 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $32,125,000 after purchasing an additional 219,901 shares in the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Dolby Laboratories

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.