Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading 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 traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVGO. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.83.

Broadcom Trading Up 3.5 %

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $202.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 193.67, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.03.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is a boost from Broadcom's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio is presently 192.50%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 113,050 shares in the company, valued at $26,606,317.50. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total transaction of $918,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % 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. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,030.8% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 900.0% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,323.1% during the third quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,073.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.