Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $250.00, but opened at $240.65. Broadcom shares last traded at $242.19, with a volume of 11,007,985 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVGO. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $180.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Hsbc Global Res raised Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.54.

Broadcom Price Performance

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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $178.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.48. The company has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 194.28, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13.

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 firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 30.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 191.87%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.94, for a total value of $25,941,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,181,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,399,515.40. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $3,591,588.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 399,460 shares in the company, valued at $70,744,366. The trade was a 4.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 235,880 shares of company stock worth $41,131,686 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVGO. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 1,030.8% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% during 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 position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1,073.7% in the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 900.0% during the third quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 240 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.