Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $205.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Approximately 21,490,299 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 27% from the previous session’s volume of 29,387,973 shares.The stock last traded at $243.08 and had previously closed at $224.80.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Broadcom from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total value of $3,591,588.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 399,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,744,366. The trade was a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 25,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.27, for a total transaction of $4,240,404.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 753,280 shares in the company, valued at $126,754,425.60. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 261,080 shares of company stock worth $45,372,090 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Broadcom during the second quarter worth about $128,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom during the 2nd quarter worth about $136,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the second quarter worth approximately $169,000. Semus Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom in the second quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Palisades Hudson Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Broadcom during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 195.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued 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 return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 191.87%.

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.