Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Up 1.2% - Still a Buy?

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $255.64 and last traded at $252.35. Approximately 6,215,280 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 29,987,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Broadcom from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $301.00 price target for the company. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadcom has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.09.

Broadcom Trading Up 0.8%

The company's fifty day moving average price is $217.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.02. 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 company has a market cap of $1.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.11.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.96 EPS. The business's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.39%.

Broadcom declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other news, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $148,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,695,300. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 849,134 shares of company stock valued at $163,760,949 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in Broadcom during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Broadcom in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. 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.