Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Given New $265.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $233.00 to $265.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.88.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of Broadcom stock opened at $220.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.82, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Broadcom has a 12 month low of $104.15 and a 12 month high of $251.88.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Broadcom will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 191.87%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 150,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.94, for a total transaction of $25,941,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,181,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,399,515.40. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.44, for a total transaction of $2,893,968.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 737,330 shares in the company, valued at $133,781,155.20. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 242,420 shares of company stock valued at $42,701,286. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 948.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,814,902,000 after acquiring an additional 166,844,263 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Broadcom by 842.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $6,209,758,000 after acquiring an additional 32,178,542 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 975.4% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 30,674,902 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.