Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $178.95, but opened at $170.43. Broadcom shares last traded at $175.86, with a volume of 4,808,925 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $148,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,695,300. The trade was a 3.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $4,500,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 465,956 shares in the company, valued at $83,872,080. This trade represents a 5.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on AVGO shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Broadcom currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.28.

Broadcom Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $803.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $191.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.87.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 113.46%.

Broadcom declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVGO. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

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.