Violich Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Violich Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,325 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,755 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $4,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Broadcom by 948.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 89,975,941 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,594,088,000 after purchasing an additional 82,998,328 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 842.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 32,178,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 975.4% in 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 purchasing 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

In other news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total value of $918,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,655,296. This trade represents a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total transaction of $3,400,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,352.80. This represents a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AVGO. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Broadcom from $265.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.04.

Broadcom Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of AVGO opened at $235.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 192.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $223.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.10. Broadcom Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.76 and a fifty-two week high of $251.88. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.59 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 192.50%.

Broadcom 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.