Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $222.43, but opened at $233.94. Broadcom shares last traded at $230.35, with a volume of 4,126,696 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AVGO shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.04.

Broadcom Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $215.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 191.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.02.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 192.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadcom news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total value of $3,400,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,352.80. This trade represents a 69.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $1,569,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,308,000. The trade was a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 1,030.8% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 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.