Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Stock Price Up 3.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) were up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $240.23 and last traded at $239.68. Approximately 22,827,188 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 30,531,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVGO has been the topic of several research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.88.

Broadcom Stock Up 2.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 213.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $184.30 and its 200-day moving average is $170.51.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. Broadcom’s revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 191.87%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.32, for a total value of $3,446,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,151,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,497,131.20. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,240 shares of company stock worth $22,915,911 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Broadcom by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,507 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 510 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Broadcom by 6.2% during the second quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,856,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Decatur Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Broadcom by 2.2% during the second quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,166 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,083,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 11.3% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. 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.