Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Down 2% - Time to Sell?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $244.25 and last traded at $245.78. Approximately 11,566,080 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 29,785,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AVGO. Erste Group Bank upgraded Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Broadcom from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $276.09.

Broadcom Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 92.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.61.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.01. Broadcom had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.96 EPS. Broadcom's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.39%.

Broadcom declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 117,758 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.91, for a total transaction of $29,782,175.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,014,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,489,182.32. The trade was a 10.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 849,134 shares of company stock valued at $163,760,949. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVGO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,893,010,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 1st quarter worth $6,649,117,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 65,509,579 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $10,968,270,000 after purchasing an additional 17,985,046 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Broadcom by 18,179.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,276,164 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $2,892,548,000 after purchasing an additional 17,181,652 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Broadcom by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,213,160 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $2,367,819,000 after purchasing an additional 6,809,245 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.