Alta Advisers Ltd Acquires 8,600 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Alta Advisers Ltd increased its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 55.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,199 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares during the quarter. Broadcom accounts for approximately 1.7% of Alta Advisers Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Broadcom were worth $4,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,832 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,207,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Broadcom by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AVGO traded up $4.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $274.87. The company had a trading volume of 10,592,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,641,799. Broadcom Inc. has a one year low of $128.50 and a one year high of $277.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 102.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.81.

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

Broadcom announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 20th. Broadcom's payout ratio is presently 88.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AVGO shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Broadcom from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 15th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $304.00 target price (up from $267.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, June 6th. HSBC upgraded Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $281.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.28, for a total value of $12,664,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 415,956 shares in the company, valued at $105,353,335.68. The trade was a 10.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 473,898 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.33, for a total transaction of $125,739,356.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 38,188,575 shares in the company, valued at $10,132,574,604.75. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 854,716 shares of company stock valued at $221,433,761. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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.