Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Down 3.1% – Time to Sell?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s stock price traded down 3.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $221.25 and last traded at $222.16. 8,456,825 shares traded 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Broadcom from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.54.

Broadcom Stock Down 2.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 193.70, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.31.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 30.12%. Broadcom’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 191.87%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total value of $11,296,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 113,050 shares in the company, valued at $26,606,317.50. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of Broadcom 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 owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,308,000. This trade represents a 17.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 187,278 shares of company stock worth $44,046,240. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Broadcom by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 20,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,858,000 after acquiring an additional 3,707 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 2.7% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 291,078 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $467,334,000 after purchasing an additional 7,608 shares during the last quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 829.8% in the third quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,950 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 7,095 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Broadcom by 943.3% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,136 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after buying an additional 18,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Broadcom by 947.2% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 689,858 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $119,000,000 after buying an additional 623,983 shares in the last quarter. 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.