Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Price Target Raised to $315.00 at Benchmark

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) had its price target upped by Benchmark from $255.00 to $315.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Broadcom from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Broadcom from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Broadcom from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.25.

Broadcom Stock Down 5.0%

AVGO stock opened at $246.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 201.43, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.11. Broadcom has a fifty-two week low of $128.50 and a fifty-two week high of $265.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $203.73 and a 200-day moving average of $206.22.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.01. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Broadcom will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 113.46%.

Broadcom declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total transaction of $120,578,041.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,798,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,045,847,733.60. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $5,839,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 720,576 shares of company stock valued at $131,249,694. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Broadcom

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in Broadcom by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 515,388 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $120,070,000 after purchasing an additional 18,845 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its stake in Broadcom by 1,100.8% in the 4th quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 15,707 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 14,399 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Broadcom by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 34,380 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in Broadcom by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,056 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in Broadcom by 1,512.3% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 92,629 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $21,660,000 after purchasing an additional 86,884 shares during the period. 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.