Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Stock Price Down 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) dropped 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $161.07 and last traded at $162.51. Approximately 3,475,401 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 29,304,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, September 6th. UBS Group upped 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Broadcom from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Broadcom from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.79.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.82. The company has a market capitalization of $753.92 billion, a PE ratio of 141.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. Broadcom had a return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $13.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Broadcom’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 184.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 25,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.27, for a total transaction of $4,240,404.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 753,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,754,425.60. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.37, for a total value of $8,168,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,331,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $217,594,136.70. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 311,080 shares of company stock worth $53,540,590. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 948.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,814,902,000 after buying an additional 166,844,263 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 976.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,055,760,000 after acquiring an additional 89,975,941 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 1,121.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,594,088,000 after acquiring an additional 82,998,328 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Broadcom by 842.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $6,209,758,000 after purchasing 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 shares of Broadcom by 975.4% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 30,674,902 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.