Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading 0.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was up 0.3% during trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $1,405.00 to $1,500.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Broadcom traded as high as $1,289.46 and last traded at $1,287.08. Approximately 621,575 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 2,922,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,282.63.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AVGO. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $1,400.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Broadcom from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,500.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,325.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,500.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,285.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadcom news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,312.25, for a total transaction of $2,624,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $220,583,976. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Kenneth Hao sold 9,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,388.13, for a total value of $12,715,270.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,465.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,312.25, for a total transaction of $2,624,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,583,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,920 shares of company stock worth $40,306,667. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Broadcom by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 640 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Broadcom by 72.7% in the 1st quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 19 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BetterWealth LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. BetterWealth LLC now owns 602 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $558.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.65, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,305.11 and its 200 day moving average is $1,118.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $10.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.95 by $2.04. Broadcom had a net margin of 29.93% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The firm had revenue of $11.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 34.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 35.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $5.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $21.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.84%.

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.