Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Price Target Lowered to $246.00 at Morgan Stanley

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $265.00 to $246.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the semiconductor manufacturer's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on AVGO. Citigroup upped their price objective on Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadcom currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.04.

Broadcom Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVGO traded up $5.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $221.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 41,012,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,867,582. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 180.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $212.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.58. Broadcom has a 12-month low of $117.43 and a 12-month high of $251.88.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Broadcom will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. This is a boost from Broadcom's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom's payout ratio is 192.50%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $1,569,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,308,000. This trade represents a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.96, for a total transaction of $10,798,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 842,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,246,926.56. This trade represents a 5.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVGO. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Broadcom by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,685 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Marest Capital LLC increased its stake in Broadcom by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Marest Capital LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Defined Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $2,947,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.