West Branch Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 27,913 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,495 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises 2.1% of West Branch Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $6,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its stake in Broadcom by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,685 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,947,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Kades & Cheifetz LLC boosted its stake in Broadcom by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kades & Cheifetz LLC now owns 6,623 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,584 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,222,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Up 1.8 %

AVGO opened at $244.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 199.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $207.20 and its 200 day moving average is $180.10. Broadcom Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.43 and a fifty-two week high of $251.88.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s payout ratio is 192.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total value of $11,296,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 113,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,606,317.50. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total value of $3,400,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,352.80. This represents a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Broadcom Company Profile

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.