Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Up 1.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $315.00 to $330.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Broadcom traded as high as $279.45 and last traded at $274.68. Approximately 6,130,797 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 28,354,756 shares. The stock had previously closed at $271.80.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Broadcom from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Broadcom from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $290.21.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.88, for a total value of $2,528,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 789,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,720,577.92. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 56,310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.75, for a total value of $14,176,042.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 361,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $91,117,639.75. This trade represents a 13.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 829,716 shares of company stock valued at $216,933,761. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sawyer & Company Inc boosted its stake in Broadcom by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 2.1% in the first quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,091 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1.3% during the second quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 3,405 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Challenger Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1.3% during the first quarter. Challenger Wealth Management now owns 3,504 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Broadcom by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,671 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $246.70 and a 200-day moving average of $218.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.01. Broadcom had a net margin of 22.64% and a return on equity of 35.49%. The company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 20th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio is 88.39%.

Broadcom announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, April 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.