Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Down 2.8% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) dropped 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $236.35 and last traded at $238.40. Approximately 9,867,720 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 30,437,699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.36.

Specifically, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.79, for a total transaction of $4,815,916.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 321,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,809,191.40. This trade represents a 5.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.96, for a total value of $10,798,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 842,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,246,926.56. This trade represents a 5.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Broadcom news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total transaction of $3,400,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,352.80. The trade was a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.88.

Broadcom Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 210.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $185.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.21.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 191.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Broadcom by 948.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,814,902,000 after purchasing an additional 166,844,263 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,055,760,000 after purchasing an additional 89,975,941 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 1,121.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $15,594,088,000 after buying an additional 82,998,328 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 842.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $6,209,758,000 after buying an additional 32,178,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Broadcom by 975.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,819,675 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,833,894,000 after buying an additional 30,674,902 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadcom Company Profile

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.