Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $154.14, but opened at $167.62. Broadcom shares last traded at $167.58, with a volume of 5,705,901 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.48.

Broadcom Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $810.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 140.54, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $197.24 and its 200 day moving average is $195.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.46%.

Broadcom announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total transaction of $120,578,041.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,798,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,045,847,733.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $5,839,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This represents a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVGO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth $16,893,010,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Broadcom by 1,114.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,113,921 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,849,270,000 after buying an additional 19,375,547 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Broadcom by 18,179.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,276,164 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,892,548,000 after acquiring an additional 17,181,652 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 47,524,533 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $11,018,089,000 after purchasing an additional 15,171,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Broadcom by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,213,160 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,367,819,000 after purchasing an additional 6,809,245 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by 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.