Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,031,951 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 717,151 shares during the period. Broadcom accounts for about 2.7% of ProShare Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Broadcom worth $1,166,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVGO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Broadcom by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 475,134,603 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $110,155,206,000 after purchasing an additional 6,573,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,207,120 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $23,647,209,000 after buying an additional 3,018,294 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 93,274,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $21,624,718,000 after buying an additional 2,873,809 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,893,010,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 49,087,351 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $11,380,411,000 after acquiring an additional 5,258,925 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total transaction of $120,578,041.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 38,798,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 at this hyperlink. Also, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $148,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,695,300. The trade was a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 720,576 shares of company stock valued at $131,249,694. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVGO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Broadcom presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.48.

Broadcom Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of AVGO traded down $4.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $228.61. 22,996,350 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,203,212. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 186.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.04. Broadcom Inc. has a 1 year low of $128.50 and a 1 year high of $251.88. The firm's fifty day moving average is $187.08 and its 200-day moving average is $199.25.

Broadcom announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, April 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.46%.

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.