Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Down 1.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) dropped 1.1% on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $265.00 to $246.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Broadcom traded as low as $203.85 and last traded at $205.12. Approximately 10,672,787 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 29,528,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.36.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America lifted 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a 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 company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Broadcom to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Broadcom has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.04.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.96, for a total transaction of $10,798,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 842,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $202,246,926.56. This represents a 5.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $1,569,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,308,000. The trade was a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVGO. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing 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 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,323.1% in the 3rd quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Stock Up 4.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 175.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $211.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.27.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is an increase from Broadcom's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 191.87%.

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.