Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Up 2.4% - Should You Buy?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) was up 2.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $249.59 and last traded at $246.02. Approximately 8,555,700 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 24,248,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.83.

Broadcom Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $207.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.10. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 199.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $14.05 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. This is a positive change from Broadcom's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom's payout ratio is 192.50%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,168 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.79, for a total value of $4,815,916.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 321,660 shares in the company, valued at $76,809,191.40. This trade represents a 5.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 12,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.62, for a total transaction of $2,886,323.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 325,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $74,728,221.66. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVGO. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 20,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $4,858,000 after buying an additional 3,707 shares during the last quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 829.8% in the third quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,950 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 7,095 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Broadcom by 943.3% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,136 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 18,206 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Broadcom by 947.2% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 689,858 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $119,000,000 after purchasing an additional 623,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 969.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 386,644 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $66,696,000 after purchasing an additional 350,485 shares during the period. 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.