Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Stock Price Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s stock price was up 1.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $230.34 and last traded at $228.25. Approximately 5,129,614 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 22,820,629 shares. The stock had previously closed at $224.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.83.

Broadcom Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 193.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $200.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.60.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Broadcom’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 192.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In related news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total transaction of $3,400,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,352.80. This trade represents a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total value of $9,279,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at $161,627,425.40. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in Broadcom by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,685 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,947,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its stake in Broadcom by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Kades & Cheifetz LLC lifted its stake in Broadcom by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Kades & Cheifetz LLC now owns 6,623 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Broadcom by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,584 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,222,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadcom Company Profile

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.