Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Up 3.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) traded up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $260.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Broadcom traded as high as $238.10 and last traded at $237.44. 31,036,592 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 41,590,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.41.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on AVGO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Broadcom from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.96, for a total value of $10,798,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 842,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,246,926.56. This trade represents a 5.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total transaction of $9,279,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at $161,627,425.40. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Broadcom by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 47,745 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $11,069,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Broadcom by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 164,651 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $38,173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 38,723 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $8,978,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. TTP Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. TTP Investments Inc. now owns 60,649 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $14,061,000 after acquiring an additional 25,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,449 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $4,045,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadcom Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 196.01, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $203.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 0.98%. Broadcom's payout ratio is 192.50%.

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.