Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading 3.3% Higher - Here's Why

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) shares traded up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $204.39 and last traded at $203.84. 5,068,663 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 31,133,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho cut their target price on Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $229.48.

Broadcom Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.97 and a 200-day moving average of $196.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $937.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.04.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio is presently 113.46%.

Broadcom announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other news, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total value of $120,578,041.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,798,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,045,847,733.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $5,839,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. The trade was a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 719,776 shares of company stock worth $131,065,542. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Broadcom by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Broadcom by 2.2% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 19,953 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,341,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in Broadcom by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 1,561,180 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $261,388,000 after purchasing an additional 37,700 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt increased its position in Broadcom by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,548,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $259,182,000 after acquiring an additional 510,000 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Partners Group Inc lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 11.9% in the first quarter. Financial Partners Group Inc now owns 1,300 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. 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.