Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Up 1.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) was up 1.8% on Wednesday after Erste Group Bank upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $265.43 and last traded at $261.49. Approximately 12,049,621 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 30,774,362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.85.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat, Broadcom presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $246.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadcom news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at $95,564,585.40. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $148,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,695,300. The trade was a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 720,576 shares of company stock worth $131,249,694 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVGO. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadcom in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadcom during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average is $200.31 and its 200 day moving average is $205.00. The company has a market cap of $1.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 212.02, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.11.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio is 113.46%.

Broadcom announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.