Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) dropped 1.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $205.35 and last traded at $209.72. Approximately 6,858,680 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 27,174,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AVGO shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.04.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $227.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.86. The company has a market cap of $934.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 162.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 191.87%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $1,569,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,308,000. This represents a 17.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.96, for a total value of $10,798,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 842,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,246,926.56. This trade represents a 5.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,685 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Marest Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Marest Capital LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,052,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Defined Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,947,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.