Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Down 1.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell 1.2% on Tuesday to $381.57 (trading as low as $379.79) on about 21.8M shares, roughly 14% below average; Broadcom's market cap is ≈$1.80 trillion with a P/E near 97.
• Analyst consensus is "Buy" with an average price target of $383, though opinions vary (Barclays $450, Goldman $435, Wells Fargo $345) and some firms have trimmed ratings.
• Recent results and insider activity: Broadcom beat the September-quarter estimates (EPS $1.69 vs $1.66; revenue $15.95B, +22% YoY) and pays a $0.59 quarterly dividend (≈0.6% yield), but insiders have been significant net sellers recently, including CEO Hock E. Tan.

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) fell 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $379.79 and last traded at $381.57. 21,839,766 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 25,400,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $386.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVGO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $255.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $435.00 price target on shares of Broadcom and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Broadcom from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, November 23rd. Barclays set a $450.00 target price on Broadcom and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $383.00.

Broadcom Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $353.10 and a 200-day moving average of $308.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.34, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.19.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. Broadcom had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 31.59%.The business had revenue of $15.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Broadcom's payout ratio is 60.20%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 16,558 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.61, for a total value of $5,755,726.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 329,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,468,668.22. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 148,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.67, for a total value of $49,879,007.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 825,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,088,746.66. This trade represents a 15.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 3,550 shares of company stock worth $1,227,869 and have sold 665,271 shares worth $225,483,192. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Broadcom by 2.6% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,427,112 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $470,819,000 after buying an additional 36,387 shares during the period. Stillwater Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,802,000. Investment Research Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,390,000. Strategic Advocates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $3,984,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in Broadcom during the third quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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