Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Up 3.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares were up 3.5% on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $260.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Broadcom traded as high as $238.10 and last traded at $237.44. Approximately 31,036,592 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 41,590,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.41.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AVGO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.83.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,655,296. This represents a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total value of $9,279,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at $161,627,425.40. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 20,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,858,000 after purchasing an additional 3,707 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 2.7% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 291,078 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $467,334,000 after buying an additional 7,608 shares during the period. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 829.8% in the third quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,950 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after buying an additional 7,095 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 943.3% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,136 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after buying an additional 18,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 947.2% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 689,858 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $119,000,000 after acquiring an additional 623,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Trading Up 3.5 %

The company has a market cap of $1.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 193.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $202.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.14.

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 firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The company’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 192.50%.

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.