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

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 trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVGO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.04.

Broadcom Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.50 and a 200-day moving average of $183.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 191.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.02.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 192.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadcom news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total transaction of $918,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,655,296. This trade represents a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $1,569,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Broadcom by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 20,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,858,000 after purchasing an additional 3,707 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth about $244,000. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 829.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,950 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after buying an additional 7,095 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 943.3% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,136 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after buying an additional 18,206 shares during the period. Finally, Motive Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Broadcom by 1,076.5% in the 4th quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 4,600 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.