Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 298,143 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 657,290 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 298,143 shares during the period. Broadcom makes up 0.7% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $152,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 20,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,858,000 after buying an additional 3,707 shares during the period. Wolff Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth $244,000. Motive Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,076.5% in the 4th quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 4,600 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 4,209 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Broadcom by 969.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 386,644 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $66,696,000 after buying an additional 350,485 shares during the period. Finally, Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,017,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVGO opened at $178.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $838.64 billion, a PE ratio of 145.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. Broadcom Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.76 and a 52-week high of $251.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.45 and a 200-day moving average of $196.15.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.46%.

Broadcom declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Broadcom from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Broadcom currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total transaction of $120,578,041.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,798,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,045,847,733.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $5,839,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,564,585.40. This represents a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently 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.