Broadcom Inc. $AVGO Shares Purchased by Auto Owners Insurance Co

Key Points

• Auto Owners Insurance Co dramatically increased its Broadcom stake in the fourth quarter, buying 824,789 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 827,179 shares worth about $28.6 million.
• Broadcom continues to attract strong institutional interest, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, Geode, Price T Rowe, and Norges Bank also adding or holding large positions; overall, 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish, with several analysts raising or reaffirming positive ratings and setting price targets around $490–$535, while Broadcom also reported earnings and revenue above estimates in its latest quarter.

Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 34,510.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 827,179 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 824,789 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co's holdings in Broadcom were worth $28,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVGO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 482,707,302 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $167,064,997,000 after buying an additional 3,919,715 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 190,084,351 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $65,788,194,000 after acquiring an additional 5,040,801 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 111,277,280 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $38,396,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548,699 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Broadcom by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,546,083 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $29,607,500,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491,644 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth $24,252,196,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AVGO. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $502.00 target price on shares of Broadcom and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $490.13.

Broadcom News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Broadcom this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broadcom’s debt tender offer was upsized to $3 billion after strong investor demand, signaling active balance-sheet management and reinforcing investor confidence. Broadcom Inc. Announces Results and Upsize of Offers to Purchase for Cash Certain of its Outstanding Debt Securities
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan remained bullish on Broadcom, saying investors should be “aggressive buyers,” which supports the view that the market may still be underestimating AVGO’s AI growth. AVGO stock jumps — JPMorgan says investors should be 'aggressive buyers' of Broadcom at current levels
• Positive Sentiment: Citi also called Broadcom a top chip stock on strong data-center demand, adding another bullish Wall Street view tied to AI infrastructure spending. Citi Touts Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) as a Top Chip Stock on Soaring Data Center Demand
• Positive Sentiment: One report said VMware, Broadcom’s second-largest business, may be set to accelerate, which could broaden growth beyond the company’s AI chip exposure. VMware: Broadcom's Second Biggest Business Set to Accelerate
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Mark David Brazeal sold shares in two June transactions, but the sales were relatively small versus his remaining stake and do not necessarily change the broader investment thesis. Mark David Brazeal insider trading page
• Negative Sentiment: One analyst warned that chip valuations are getting stretched and suggested investors could consider alternatives, including Broadcom, which may temper enthusiasm if valuation concerns intensify. Analyst Warns Intel Valuation ‘Doesn't Make Sense.' Suggests NVIDIA, AMD, Micron, and Broadcom as Alternatives.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 4,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.91, for a total transaction of $1,905,440.75. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 269,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $106,621,355.99. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.23, for a total transaction of $3,452,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 787,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,759,532.32. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 59,385 shares of company stock worth $21,301,057 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of Broadcom stock opened at $411.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $411.42 and a 200 day moving average of $363.50. Broadcom Inc. has a 12 month low of $244.17 and a 12 month high of $495.00.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.13 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 38.85% and a return on equity of 41.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 47.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Broadcom's payout ratio is 43.33%.

Broadcom Profile

Broadcom Inc NASDAQ: AVGO is a global technology company that designs, develops and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions for a broad range of markets. The company's semiconductor business provides components and systems for wired and wireless communications, enterprise and cloud storage, networking and broadband access, serving original equipment manufacturers, cloud service providers, telecommunications carriers and industrial customers worldwide. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, California, and operates globally with research, development and sales organizations across North America, Europe and Asia.

On the semiconductor side, Broadcom's portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions, radio-frequency and connectivity components, Ethernet switching and PHY devices, storage adapters and controllers, optical transceivers and other networking silicon.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AVGO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.