Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Down 3.1% Following Insider Selling

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was down 3.1% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $221.25 and last traded at $222.16. Approximately 8,456,825 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 23,750,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.31.

Specifically, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the firm’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 approximately $26,606,317.50. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total transaction of $9,279,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at $161,627,425.40. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVGO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.54.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 194.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. Broadcom’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 191.87%.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1,030.8% during the third 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 last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. JDM Financial Group LLC boosted 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1,073.7% during the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% in the third quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 240 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 216 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.