Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Trading Down 11.4% – Here’s What Happened

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was down 11.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $355.15 and last traded at $359.93. Approximately 93,214,285 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 263% from the average daily volume of 25,710,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $406.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Broadcom from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $435.00 price target on shares of Broadcom and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up from $415.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $475.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.85.

Broadcom Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $363.17 and its 200 day moving average is $317.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $18.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.46 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 38.82%. Broadcom’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 3,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.82, for a total value of $1,354,063.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,295 shares in the company, valued at $8,798,106.90. This represents a 13.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.14, for a total transaction of $264,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,080,435.48. This represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 837,433 shares of company stock valued at $303,900,352 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Broadcom

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Broadcom during the second quarter worth about $18,579,549,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 65,509,579 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $10,968,270,000 after buying an additional 17,985,046 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 483,442,939 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $133,261,046,000 after buying an additional 6,222,802 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadcom in the second quarter valued at $1,571,438,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Broadcom by 499.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,634,232 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,858,789,000 after purchasing an additional 4,694,313 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.