Broadcom Inc. $AVGO Shares Sold by Pinkerton Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Pinkerton Wealth LLC cut its Broadcom stake by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,189 shares and leaving it with 29,529 shares valued at about $10.2 million.
• Broadcom reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.05 on revenue of $19.31 billion, both slightly above analyst estimates and up sharply from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain generally positive on AVGO, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $448.10, though several firms have recently trimmed their targets.

Pinkerton Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,529 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 5,189 shares during the period. Broadcom accounts for about 1.0% of Pinkerton Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Pinkerton Wealth LLC's holdings in Broadcom were worth $10,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Princeton Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 32,363 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $11,201,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 515,292 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $178,343,000 after purchasing an additional 147,115 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 966,391 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $334,468,000 after purchasing an additional 298,993 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 224,598 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $77,733,000 after purchasing an additional 12,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 58,215 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $20,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,631 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of AVGO opened at $414.14 on Tuesday. Broadcom Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $226.18 and a fifty-two week high of $442.36. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $374.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $356.49. The company has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 80.89, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.02. Broadcom had a net margin of 36.57% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $19.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 29.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 9.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 23rd. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AVGO. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $500.00 to $450.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Broadcom from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $370.00 to $340.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $448.10.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 39,116 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.61, for a total value of $12,580,096.76. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,000,467.86. This trade represents a 34.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 36,292 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.60, for a total transaction of $11,671,507.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 327,760 shares in the company, valued at $105,407,616. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 324,282 shares of company stock valued at $106,425,249. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

About Broadcom

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.