Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Down 2% – Here’s Why

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s stock price dropped 2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $233.10 and last traded at $235.52. Approximately 9,579,903 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 29,876,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AVGO. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Broadcom from $180.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.54.

Broadcom Stock Down 2.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 189.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.05. 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 posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 191.87%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,308,000. This represents a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 150,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.94, for a total transaction of $25,941,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,181,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,399,515.40. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 242,420 shares of company stock worth $42,701,286. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AXA S.A. increased its stake in Broadcom by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 291,078 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $467,334,000 after acquiring an additional 7,608 shares during the period. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 829.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,950 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 7,095 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Broadcom by 943.3% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,136 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 18,206 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Broadcom by 947.2% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 689,858 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $119,000,000 after purchasing an additional 623,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 912.6% during the third quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,802 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is owned by 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.