Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Key Points

• Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Broadcom Inc. by 18.2%, owning 414,719 shares valued at roughly $69.44 million, which constitutes 3.4% of its portfolio.
• Multiple hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Broadcom, with Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increasing its holdings by an impressive 1,512.3% during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have upgraded Broadcom's stock ratings, with Barclays raising its price target from $215 to $265, and Mizuho targeting $320, reflecting strong market sentiment towards the company.

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 18.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 414,719 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 92,284 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises about 3.4% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Broadcom were worth $69,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 29,683 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $6,882,000 after purchasing an additional 5,322 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,997 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,199 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $51,283,000 after acquiring an additional 31,225 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 25,522 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $5,917,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $263,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $219,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,742,842.60. This trade represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.29, for a total value of $10,731,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 482,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $129,540,070.44. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 830,516 shares of company stock valued at $217,224,641 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of AVGO stock traded down $5.06 on Friday, hitting $288.64. The company had a trading volume of 21,405,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,886,023. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 108.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's 50-day moving average is $265.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.08. Broadcom Inc. has a twelve month low of $128.50 and a twelve month high of $306.95.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.01. Broadcom had a net margin of 22.64% and a return on equity of 35.49%. The company had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.96 earnings per share. Broadcom's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, April 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor manufacturer to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 20th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AVGO shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $301.00 price target on the stock. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Broadcom from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. HSBC raised Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Broadcom from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $294.92.

About Broadcom

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.