Ascent Group LLC Acquires 2,540 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,174 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises about 0.9% of Ascent Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Broadcom were worth $11,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVGO. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in Broadcom by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 515,388 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $120,070,000 after acquiring an additional 18,845 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth about $244,000. Motive Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,100.8% during the 4th quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 15,707 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 14,399 shares during the period. Finally, TTP Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. TTP Investments Inc. now owns 60,649 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $14,061,000 after purchasing an additional 25,330 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,798,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,045,847,733.60. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $148,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,695,300. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 720,576 shares of company stock worth $131,249,694 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Broadcom from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Broadcom from $260.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.48.

Broadcom Stock Up 3.0%

AVGO stock traded up $6.93 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $235.65. 17,906,364 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,055,312. Broadcom Inc. has a 1 year low of $128.50 and a 1 year high of $251.88. The firm's 50 day moving average is $191.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 192.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Broadcom announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.46%.

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.