Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $228.00, but opened at $235.22. Broadcom shares last traded at $234.53, with a volume of 3,930,561 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVGO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Broadcom from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. William Blair started coverage on Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.54.

Broadcom Stock Up 2.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 191.14, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $199.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 192.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total transaction of $11,296,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 113,050 shares in the company, valued at $26,606,317.50. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.79, for a total value of $4,815,916.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 321,660 shares in the company, valued at $76,809,191.40. This represents a 5.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Castleview Partners LLC raised its holdings in Broadcom by 1,030.8% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,323.1% during the 3rd quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 1,073.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.