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

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s stock price traded down 3.1% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $221.25 and last traded at $222.16. 8,456,825 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 23,750,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.31.

Specifically, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total transaction of $11,296,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 113,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,606,317.50. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total value of $9,279,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,627,425.40. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVGO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho increased their price target on Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.54.

Broadcom Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 194.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Broadcom’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 191.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVGO. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Broadcom by 948.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,814,902,000 after buying an additional 166,844,263 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $17,055,760,000 after purchasing an additional 89,975,941 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $15,594,088,000 after purchasing an additional 82,998,328 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Broadcom by 842.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,209,758,000 after purchasing an additional 32,178,542 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Broadcom by 975.4% in the third 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 worth $5,833,894,000 after buying an additional 30,674,902 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.