Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Up 2.4% – Still a Buy?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares were up 2.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $334.76 and last traded at $332.79. Approximately 23,633,543 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 25,947,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVGO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Broadcom from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Broadcom from $342.00 to $403.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Broadcom has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $438.61.

Broadcom Stock Up 2.4%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $336.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.91, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.08. Broadcom had a return on equity of 37.45% and a net margin of 36.20%.The firm had revenue of $18.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 54.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Harry L. You bought 1,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $325.13 per share, for a total transaction of $325,130.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 36,602 shares in the company, valued at $11,900,408.26. This represents a 2.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.30, for a total transaction of $24,311,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,133,942.80. This represents a 34.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 779,901 shares of company stock valued at $284,069,237. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Broadcom during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Broadcom Company Profile

Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO) is a global technology company that designs, develops and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions for a broad range of markets. The company’s semiconductor business provides components and systems for wired and wireless communications, enterprise and cloud storage, networking and broadband access, serving original equipment manufacturers, cloud service providers, telecommunications carriers and industrial customers worldwide. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, California, and operates globally with research, development and sales organizations across North America, Europe and Asia.

On the semiconductor side, Broadcom’s portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions, radio-frequency and connectivity components, Ethernet switching and PHY devices, storage adapters and controllers, optical transceivers and other networking silicon.