Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading 1.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s share price traded up 1.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $241.73 and last traded at $240.98. 8,254,989 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 23,677,174 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.83.

Broadcom Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 195.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $205.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 192.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadcom news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total transaction of $918,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,400 shares in the company, 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 link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.96, for a total value of $10,798,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 842,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,246,926.56. The trade was a 5.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVGO. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Broadcom by 948.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,814,902,000 after acquiring an additional 166,844,263 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Broadcom by 976.6% in the third 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 lifted its position in Broadcom by 1,121.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,594,088,000 after purchasing an additional 82,998,328 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 842.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $6,209,758,000 after acquiring an additional 32,178,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $5,833,894,000 after purchasing an additional 30,674,902 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.