Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading 0.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) traded up 0.3% on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $1,405.00 to $1,500.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Broadcom traded as high as $1,289.46 and last traded at $1,287.08. 621,575 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,922,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,282.63.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,325.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Broadcom from $1,400.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut Broadcom from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Broadcom in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,620.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised Broadcom from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $1,400.00 to $1,500.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,285.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Kenneth Hao sold 9,160 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,388.13, for a total transaction of $12,715,270.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,465.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kenneth Hao sold 9,160 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,388.13, for a total transaction of $12,715,270.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45 shares in the company, valued at $62,465.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 2,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,312.25, for a total transaction of $2,624,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $220,583,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,920 shares of company stock valued at $40,306,667. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 0.7% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 33,702 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $43,515,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 428.9% during the first quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Broadcom by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 944 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in Broadcom by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 973 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 1st quarter worth approximately $301,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $558.29 billion, a PE ratio of 44.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,305.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,118.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $10.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.95 by $2.04. Broadcom had a net margin of 29.93% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The company had revenue of $11.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 35.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $5.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $21.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 77.84%.

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.