Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Broadcom in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $301.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Broadcom from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.25.

Broadcom Trading Down 5.0%

Broadcom stock traded down $12.98 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $246.95. 41,055,118 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,954,270. Broadcom has a fifty-two week low of $128.50 and a fifty-two week high of $265.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 201.43, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.11. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $202.16 and its 200-day moving average is $205.65.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.98 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. Broadcom's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.96 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Broadcom will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.46%.

Broadcom announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 38,798,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,045,847,733.60. This represents a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $5,839,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 720,576 shares of company stock worth $131,249,694. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadcom

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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.