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

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $195.54, but opened at $188.05. Broadcom shares last traded at $193.88, with a volume of 5,151,079 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadcom has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.48.

Broadcom Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $887.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 153.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.61.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 113.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total transaction of $918,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,655,296. This represents a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 12,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.62, for a total transaction of $2,886,323.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 325,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,728,221.66. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 184,738 shares of company stock valued at $43,395,200. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 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.