Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Down 2.7% – Time to Sell?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s share price was down 2.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $201.04 and last traded at $202.37. Approximately 9,022,591 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 27,220,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Broadcom from $265.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.04.

Broadcom Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.93. The company has a market cap of $952.69 billion, a PE ratio of 166.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.02. 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 (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. Broadcom’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. Broadcom’s payout ratio is presently 191.87%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In related news, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,308,000. This represents a 17.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total transaction of $918,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,655,296. This trade represents a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in Broadcom by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 103,419 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $23,977,000 after purchasing an additional 10,191 shares during the period. Chokshi & Queen Wealth Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth $3,177,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 344.4% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 280,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $64,915,000 after purchasing an additional 217,000 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Broadcom by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 12,377 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Instrumental Wealth LLC raised its stake in Broadcom by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Instrumental Wealth LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.