Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading 4.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) rose 4.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $225.40 and last traded at $225.28. Approximately 9,851,578 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 30,266,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $215.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.04.

Broadcom Stock Up 3.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 182.17, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.58.

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

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. 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 1.06%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 192.50%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 1,030.8% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. JDM Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 1,323.1% in the 3rd quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,073.7% during the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.