Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Short Interest Up 7.6% in August

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 54,740,000 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the August 15th total of 50,860,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 37,620,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of Broadcom stock traded up $1.73 on Wednesday, hitting $164.20. 6,230,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,302,434. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $764.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. Broadcom has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $185.16.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.98 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 30.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Analysts expect that Broadcom will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadcom news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 7,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,705.95, for a total transaction of $12,798,036.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,746,936.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Justine Page sold 2,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $444,566.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,809,714.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 7,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,705.95, for a total value of $12,798,036.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,746,936.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TBH Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 641 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Broadcom by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 837 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Broadcom by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 459 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Broadcom by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,884 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,336,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Broadcom by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,606 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,731,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AVGO shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Broadcom from $2,000.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Broadcom from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Broadcom from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Broadcom from $155.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.23.

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.