Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $255.00 price target on the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $210.00.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on AVGO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Broadcom from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Broadcom from $180.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.33.

Broadcom Stock Up 24.4 %

AVGO opened at $224.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $174.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 182.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. Broadcom has a 12 month low of $104.15 and a 12 month high of $228.70.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 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 analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Broadcom will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 172.36%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 25,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.27, for a total value of $4,240,404.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 753,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,754,425.60. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.37, for a total transaction of $8,168,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,331,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,594,136.70. The trade was a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 311,080 shares of company stock valued at $53,540,590 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Broadcom by 948.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,814,902,000 after purchasing an additional 166,844,263 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $17,055,760,000 after purchasing an additional 89,975,941 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,594,088,000 after buying an additional 82,998,328 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 842.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,209,758,000 after buying an additional 32,178,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 975.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,819,675 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,833,894,000 after buying an additional 30,674,902 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.