Broadcom Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors bought 656,666 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 168% compared to the typical volume of 245,075 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVGO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadcom has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.88.

Broadcom Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of AVGO stock opened at $220.79 on Friday. Broadcom has a 12-month low of $104.15 and a 12-month high of $251.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.49 and a 200-day moving average of $167.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 191.82, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadcom will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 1.07%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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 dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,308,000. The trade was a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gayla J. Delly sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.53, for a total transaction of $130,897.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,064,917.50. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 242,420 shares of company stock worth $42,701,286. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1,030.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC boosted its stake in Broadcom by 1,073.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 240 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.