Broadcom Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 656,666 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 168% compared to the typical daily volume of 245,075 call options.

Broadcom Trading Up 1.1 %

AVGO stock opened at $220.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.82, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.66. Broadcom has a 52 week low of $104.15 and a 52 week high of $251.88.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 30.12%. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Broadcom will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.07%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 191.87%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In related news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.44, for a total value of $2,893,968.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 737,330 shares in the company, valued at $133,781,155.20. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $1,569,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,308,000. This represents a 17.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 242,420 shares of company stock worth $42,701,286. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 1,030.8% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 1,323.1% in the 3rd quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 1,073.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 240 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVGO. Barclays lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Broadcom from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Broadcom from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Broadcom currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.88.

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.