Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Stock Price Up 3.9%

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shot up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1,355.83 and last traded at $1,345.21. 877,998 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,916,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,294.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVGO has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Broadcom from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Broadcom from $1,400.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,500.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,700.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,720.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,285.41.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,304.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,130.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $622.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $10.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.95 by $2.04. Broadcom had a return on equity of 47.71% and a net margin of 29.93%. The firm had revenue of $11.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 34.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 35.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $5.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $21.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,344.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,276,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 5,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,344.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,575 shares in the company, valued at $22,276,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 3,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,290.34, for a total value of $4,064,571.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,991,048.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,920 shares of company stock valued at $40,306,667. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVGO. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,330,880 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $26,044,294,000 after buying an additional 1,006,223 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth about $6,225,987,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,825,465 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,386,425,000 after buying an additional 170,063 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 43.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,025,658 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,343,631,000 after buying an additional 1,228,755 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Broadcom by 16.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,019,122 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,338,203,000 after acquiring an additional 573,826 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.