Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO – Get Rating) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 22,946 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 44% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,951 call options.

Broadcom Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $686.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $286.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $633.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $590.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Broadcom has a 12 month low of $415.07 and a 12 month high of $698.99.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $10.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.38 by $0.95. Broadcom had a return on equity of 73.52% and a net margin of 37.19%. The business had revenue of $8.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.68 EPS. Broadcom’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Broadcom will post 38.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 22nd were issued a $4.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 21st. This represents a $18.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on AVGO shares. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $690.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Broadcom in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $660.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $683.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other news, Director Raul J. Fernandez sold 740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.00, for a total transaction of $472,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,107. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Raul J. Fernandez sold 740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.00, for a total value of $472,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at $775,107. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.04, for a total transaction of $18,781,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 214,514 shares in the company, valued at $134,294,344.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,915 shares of company stock worth $25,576,507 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,189.9% during the first quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 3,058 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 20,820 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $13,357,000 after buying an additional 5,938 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Broadcom in the 1st quarter valued at $1,516,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 981 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 59.2% during the first quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 471,872 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $302,725,000 after acquiring an additional 175,533 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

About Broadcom

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Broadcom Inc is a global technology company, which designs, develops, and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions. It operates through the Semiconductor Solutions and Infrastructure Software segments. The Semiconductor Solutions segment manages movement of data in data center, telecom, enterprise, and embedded networking applications.