Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Up 2.4% – Time to Buy?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares shot up 2.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $249.59 and last traded at $246.02. 8,555,700 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 24,248,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AVGO. Bank of America raised their target price on Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadcom currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.83.

Broadcom Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 199.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The firm 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 company posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s payout ratio is presently 192.50%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other news, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total transaction of $11,296,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 113,050 shares in the company, valued at $26,606,317.50. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total value of $918,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 over the last 90 days. 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. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 1,030.8% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Broadcom by 900.0% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. JDM Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 1,323.1% in the third quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. 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.