Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading 0.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $232.47 and last traded at $229.27. 5,079,793 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 24,257,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVGO has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.88.

Broadcom Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $193.55 and a 200 day moving average of $174.58. 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 has a market cap of $1.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 199.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.03.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 30.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 191.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $1,569,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,308,000. The trade was a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.44, for a total transaction of $2,893,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 737,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,781,155.20. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,228 shares of company stock valued at $35,643,408. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVGO. State Street Corp increased its position in Broadcom by 948.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,814,902,000 after acquiring an additional 166,844,263 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,055,760,000 after purchasing an additional 89,975,941 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $15,594,088,000 after buying an additional 82,998,328 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 842.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,209,758,000 after buying an additional 32,178,542 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 975.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,819,675 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,833,894,000 after buying an additional 30,674,902 shares during the period. 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.