Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Stock Price Up 2.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shot up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $239.50 and last traded at $237.06. 11,309,742 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 30,456,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $231.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AVGO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Broadcom from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.88.

Broadcom Stock Performance

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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $188.87 and its 200 day moving average is $173.02. The company has a market cap of $1.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 201.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS 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 business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 191.87%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.88, for a total transaction of $3,456,432.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,560 shares in the company, valued at $69,596,812.80. The trade was a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 737,330 shares in the company, valued at $133,781,155.20. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 154,408 shares of company stock valued at $33,412,228. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Broadcom by 2.4% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,507 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Broadcom by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 510 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Broadcom by 2.2% during the second quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,166 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,083,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Broadcom by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 672 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,079,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.