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

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $250.00, but opened at $240.65. Broadcom shares last traded at $242.19, with a volume of 11,007,985 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVGO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.54.

Broadcom Trading Down 6.9 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 194.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Broadcom’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 191.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $3,591,588.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 399,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,744,366. This represents a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.44, for a total transaction of $2,893,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 737,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,781,155.20. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 235,880 shares of company stock valued at $41,131,686 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVGO. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $128,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the second quarter worth $136,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Broadcom during the 2nd quarter valued at $169,000. Semus Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom during the 2nd quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Palisades Hudson Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Broadcom in the 2nd quarter worth $204,000. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.