Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) traded down 0.7% on Friday . The company traded as low as $228.90 and last traded at $234.22. 5,246,724 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 28,101,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AVGO. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Broadcom from $265.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.04.

Broadcom Stock Down 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 190.08, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $226.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.02.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 192.50%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total value of $3,400,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,352.80. This trade represents a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,655,296. This trade represents a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVGO. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Broadcom by 856.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,014,616 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $175,101,000 after purchasing an additional 908,585 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 3rd quarter valued at about $404,000. Wealth Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,760 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Broadcom by 905.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 779,322 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $133,407,000 after buying an additional 701,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in Broadcom by 858.7% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 18,369,841 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,168,798,000 after acquiring an additional 16,453,718 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.