Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

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

Dolby Laboratories Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:DLB opened at $65.69 on Friday. Dolby Laboratories has a 1-year low of $64.02 and a 1-year high of $89.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98 and a beta of 0.89.

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The electronics maker reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.29. Dolby Laboratories had a net margin of 18.90% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $307.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts predict that Dolby Laboratories will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Dolby Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were given a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from Dolby Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 2nd. Dolby Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 54.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dolby Laboratories

In related news, SVP John D. Couling sold 7,273 shares of Dolby Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.75, for a total value of $500,018.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 108,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,429,468.75. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark Andrew Sherman sold 9,109 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.73, for a total transaction of $607,843.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 73,054 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,893.42. The trade was a 11.09% 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 worth $10,906,559 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 37.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dolby Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Dolby Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,030,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Dolby Laboratories by 51.8% during the second 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 during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake 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 last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Dolby Laboratories by 35.2% in 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. grew its position in Dolby Laboratories by 98.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 443,897 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $32,125,000 after purchasing an additional 219,901 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.56% of the company’s stock.

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.