Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Down 2.8% on Insider Selling

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) dropped 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $236.35 and last traded at $238.40. Approximately 9,867,720 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 30,437,699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.36.

Specifically, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,168 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.79, for a total transaction of $4,815,916.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 321,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,809,191.40. The trade was a 5.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.96, for a total transaction of $10,798,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In other news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,352.80. The trade was a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AVGO shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.88.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 210.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 30.12%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 191.87%.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 291,078 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $467,334,000 after acquiring an additional 7,608 shares in the last quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Broadcom by 829.8% during the third quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,950 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 7,095 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 943.3% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,136 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after buying an additional 18,206 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Broadcom by 947.2% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 689,858 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $119,000,000 after acquiring an additional 623,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 969.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 386,644 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $66,696,000 after acquiring an additional 350,485 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently 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.