Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $244.70, but opened at $213.40. Broadcom shares last traded at $213.51, with a volume of 22,188,012 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVGO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadcom has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.83.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $947.46 billion, a PE ratio of 164.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $208.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.62. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Broadcom's payout ratio is currently 192.50%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total transaction of $11,296,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 113,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,606,317.50. The trade was 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 Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total value of $9,279,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,627,425.40. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Broadcom by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,685 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Marest Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Marest Capital LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,052,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Defined Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Broadcom by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $2,947,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 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.