Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $191.58, but opened at $181.04. Broadcom shares last traded at $185.41, with a volume of 7,021,250 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AVGO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.04.

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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $844.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 147.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. Broadcom’s revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 191.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total value of $3,400,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,460 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,352.80. This represents a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total value of $11,296,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 113,050 shares in the company, valued at $26,606,317.50. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Broadcom by 948.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,814,902,000 after purchasing an additional 166,844,263 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Broadcom by 976.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $17,055,760,000 after buying an additional 89,975,941 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,594,088,000 after buying an additional 82,998,328 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at $16,893,010,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 842.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $6,209,758,000 after acquiring an additional 32,178,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.