By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares are up 8% Friday following its fourth quarter earnings announcement on Thursday evening that saw it top analyst estimates and announced a dividend hike and share repurchase program.
First, a recap of its earnings release. The company reported earnings per share of $7.81 on revenue of $7.41 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $7.74 on revenue of $7.35 billion.
On top of that, Broadcom said it sees revenue in the first quarter coming in around $7.6 billion, beating the $7.25 billion consensus.
"Broadcom concluded the year with record fourth quarter results driven by a rebound in enterprise, and continued strength from cloud and service provider demand. Our infrastructure software growth continues to be steady with our focus on strategic customers," said Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom.
The company announced a share repurchase program of up to $10 billion, effective until the end of December 2022. Furthermore, Broadcom told investors it is hiking its quarterly dividend by 14% to $4.10 per share. The dividend is payable on December 31 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 22.
The report resulted in analysts readjusting their price targets on Broadcom shares. JPMorgan raised its price target to $700 from $655, Morgan Stanley increased the Broadcom PT to $723 from $572 and the Credit Suisse target was moved to $700 from $620, alongside numerous others.
Morgan Stanley's Joseph Moore told investors there was "a lot to like in the print" and that the company is continuing "to expand its leading operating margin to impressive levels."