Short Interest in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Declines By 16.9%

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 56,950,000 shares, a decline of 16.9% from the December 31st total of 68,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Broadcom Trading Up 4.5 %

Broadcom stock traded up $9.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $215.66. 42,362,976 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,406,502. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.27. Broadcom has a fifty-two week low of $117.43 and a fifty-two week high of $251.88. 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 capitalization of $1.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 175.91, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 191.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVGO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total value of $11,296,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 113,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,606,317.50. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total transaction of $918,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,655,296. This trade represents a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Broadcom by 948.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,814,902,000 after acquiring an additional 166,844,263 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,055,760,000 after purchasing an additional 89,975,941 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 82,998,328 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 32,178,542 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 975.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,819,675 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,833,894,000 after buying an additional 30,674,902 shares in the last quarter. 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.