Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Down 5.6% – Here’s Why

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares dropped 5.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $172.55 and last traded at $174.86. Approximately 11,253,571 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 31,132,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AVGO shares. KeyCorp upped their price target on Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.48.

Broadcom Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $827.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $197.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.46%.

Broadcom announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $5,839,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. The trade was a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total transaction of $120,578,041.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,798,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,045,847,733.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.