Central Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Central Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,476 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,445 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $2,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVGO. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 948.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,814,902,000 after buying an additional 166,844,263 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,055,760,000 after buying an additional 89,975,941 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,594,088,000 after buying an additional 82,998,328 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 842.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,209,758,000 after buying an additional 32,178,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 975.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,819,675 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,833,894,000 after buying an additional 30,674,902 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,168 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.79, for a total value of $4,815,916.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 321,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,809,191.40. This trade represents a 5.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at $10,655,296. This represents a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVGO opened at $240.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 196.50, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.03. Broadcom Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.43 and a 12 month high of $251.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 192.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on AVGO shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.83.

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.