Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) were down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $222.96 and last traded at $223.16. Approximately 4,315,165 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 26,996,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVGO shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Broadcom from $265.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Broadcom currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.04.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 178.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $230.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.11.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 192.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $1,569,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,308,000. This represents a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 12,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.62, for a total value of $2,886,323.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 325,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,728,221.66. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Broadcom by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 20,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,858,000 after buying an additional 3,707 shares during the period. Wolff Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,095 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Broadcom by 943.3% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,136 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,473,000 after buying an additional 18,206 shares during the period. Finally, Motive Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,076.5% during the fourth quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 4,600 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,066,000 after buying an additional 4,209 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.