Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Short Interest Update

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 56,950,000 shares, a decline of 16.9% from the December 15th total of 68,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of Broadcom stock traded up $8.03 on Friday, hitting $237.44. 31,036,592 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,590,264. Broadcom has a 12-month low of $112.19 and a 12-month high of $251.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $1.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 193.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.60.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Broadcom will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 192.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AVGO shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Broadcom from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three investment 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 a consensus target price of $225.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadcom news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total value of $918,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.96, for a total value of $10,798,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 842,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,246,926.56. This represents a 5.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NCP Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 615.4% in the second quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 465 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in Broadcom by 61.4% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 95,428 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $153,213,000 after purchasing an additional 36,317 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,116,000. Financial & Tax Architects LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 20.1% in the second quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 925 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 18.8% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,981 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $19,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.