Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Down 4.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) dropped 4.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $177.61 and last traded at $182.97. Approximately 14,885,391 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 29,474,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVGO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadcom currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.48.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $222.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.74. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $913.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 191.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total value of $918,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total value of $3,400,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,352.80. This represents a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.