Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Up 3.3% – Here’s What Happened

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) traded up 3.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $204.39 and last traded at $203.84. 5,068,663 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 31,133,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Broadcom to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.48.

Broadcom Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $957.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 166.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $182.21 and a 200-day moving average of $196.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.46%.

Broadcom declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $148,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,695,300. This trade represents a 3.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $4,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 465,956 shares in the company, valued at $83,872,080. This trade represents a 5.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 719,776 shares of company stock valued at $131,065,542. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in Broadcom by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 515,388 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $120,070,000 after acquiring an additional 18,845 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 20,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,858,000 after purchasing an additional 3,707 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Motive Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1,076.5% during the 4th quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 4,600 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 4,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,017,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.