Centre Asset Management LLC Purchases New Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 28,637 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $4,795,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hobart Private Capital LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Trust Co of the South lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 4,016 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC increased its position in Broadcom by 15.2% in the first quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its stake in Broadcom by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 41,583 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $6,962,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Broadcom by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 206,671 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $34,603,000 after buying an additional 17,973 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Broadcom from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadcom has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $238.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadcom news, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.19, for a total transaction of $184,152.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 26,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,834.58. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total value of $120,578,041.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,798,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,045,847,733.60. This represents a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 720,576 shares of company stock worth $131,249,694. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Stock Down 1.0%

AVGO traded down $2.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $239.50. The stock had a trading volume of 27,045,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,042,717. Broadcom Inc. has a one year low of $128.50 and a one year high of $251.88. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock's 50 day moving average is $194.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.79.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio is currently 113.46%.

Broadcom announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.