Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Up 3.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shot up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $192.50 and last traded at $190.91. 12,475,837 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 29,436,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.48.

Broadcom Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $906.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Broadcom’s revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Broadcom’s payout ratio is presently 113.46%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total transaction of $9,279,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at $161,627,425.40. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total value of $918,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Inc designs, develops, and supplies various semiconductor devices with a focus on complex digital and mixed signal complementary metal oxide semiconductor based devices and analog III-V based products worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Semiconductor Solutions and Infrastructure Software.