Kirsten Spears Sells 3,714 Shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Stock

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) CFO Kirsten Spears sold 3,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.79, for a total transaction of $1,217,412.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 307,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,709,216.23. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of AVGO stock traded up $3.86 on Thursday, reaching $329.88. The stock had a trading volume of 54,325,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,720,564. Broadcom Inc. has a 12 month low of $138.10 and a 12 month high of $414.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $362.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $18.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.46 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 37.45% and a net margin of 36.20%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 49.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVGO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Broadcom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective (up from $460.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Macquarie began coverage on Broadcom in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $420.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $435.96.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVGO. Sawyer & Company Inc lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 62.1% in the second quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Broadcom in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Broadcom during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Broadcom during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.