AudioCodes (NASDAQ:AUDC) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• AudioCodes' stock price surpassed its 200-day moving average of $9.61, trading as high as $9.82 before settling at $9.67.
• Wall Street analysts have recently downgraded AudioCodes from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, with an average price target of $11.25.
• The company announced a dividend yield of 350.0% with a recent dividend payout of $0.20 per share to stockholders of record.

AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $9.61 and traded as high as $9.82. AudioCodes shares last traded at $9.67, with a volume of 58,041 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded AudioCodes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.25.

AudioCodes Trading Up 4.5%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.47 million, a PE ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.93.

AudioCodes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a half year 25 dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a yield of 350.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. AudioCodes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AudioCodes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AUDC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AudioCodes in the 1st quarter worth $412,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AudioCodes in the 4th quarter worth $406,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AudioCodes by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 190,338 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,854,000 after buying an additional 30,611 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of AudioCodes by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 133,791 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,260,000 after buying an additional 26,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AudioCodes by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 880,250 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $8,292,000 after buying an additional 21,650 shares during the last quarter. 68.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AudioCodes Company Profile

AudioCodes Ltd. provides advanced communications software, products, and productivity solutions for the digital workplace worldwide. The company offers solutions, products, and services for unified communications, contact centers, hosted business services, Voice.AI, and service provider businesses. Its products include session border controllers, life cycle management solutions, VoIP network routing solutions, media gateways and servers, multi-service business routers, IP phones solutions, and value-added applications, as well as professional services.