Vest Financial LLC Grows Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 38.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,059 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $11,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVGO. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Broadcom by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 20,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,858,000 after acquiring an additional 3,707 shares during the period. Wolff Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at $244,000. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 829.8% in the third quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,950 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 7,095 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 943.3% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,136 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 18,206 shares during the period. Finally, Motive Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 1,076.5% during the 4th quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 4,600 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Broadcom from $265.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Broadcom from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Broadcom currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.04.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of Broadcom stock opened at $235.04 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.56. Broadcom Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.76 and a 12-month high of $251.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 191.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 192.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $1,569,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,308,000. This represents a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total value of $9,279,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,627,425.40. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company 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.