Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Short Interest Down 16.9% in January

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 56,950,000 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the December 31st total of 68,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVGO traded up $5.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $221.27. 41,040,660 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,892,191. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.58. Broadcom has a 1 year low of $117.43 and a 1 year high of $251.88. The company has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 180.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.03. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. Broadcom’s revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Broadcom will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.59 dividend. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 192.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AVGO shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Broadcom from $265.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total transaction of $3,400,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,352.80. This trade represents a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,168 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.79, for a total value of $4,815,916.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 321,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,809,191.40. This represents a 5.90 % 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 quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth approximately $655,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth $621,000. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 8,470 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,964,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Davidson Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 136,086 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,550,000 after purchasing an additional 36,857 shares during the period. Finally, Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.