Equitable Trust Co. Has $8.27 Million Stock Holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in Broadcom Inc. by 27.0% during the first quarter, now owning 49,369 shares valued at approximately $8.27 million.
• Broadcom's Board of Directors has initiated a $10 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock may be undervalued.
• Wall Street analysts generally have a positive outlook on Broadcom, with 27 buy ratings and average price targets indicating potential growth from the current levels.

Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 27.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,369 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 10,497 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Broadcom were worth $8,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AVGO. Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 buying an additional 5,322 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,997 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 16.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 31,225 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 326.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 8,219 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 6,291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Stock Up 0.5%

AVGO traded up $1.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $290.18. The company had a trading volume of 12,031,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,076,324. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 108.68, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.12. Broadcom Inc. has a one year low of $128.50 and a one year high of $292.59. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $260.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Broadcom announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 20th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Broadcom's payout ratio is currently 88.39%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Henry Samueli sold 473,898 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.33, for a total value of $125,739,356.34. Following the sale, the director directly owned 38,188,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,132,574,604.75. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 36,350 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.27, for a total transaction of $9,497,164.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 325,587 shares in the company, valued at $85,066,115.49. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 830,516 shares of company stock worth $217,224,641. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.08.

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.