Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 4,132 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,500 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 4,132 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises 1.3% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Broadcom were worth $40,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth $357,000. Capital & Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Broadcom by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 78,265 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $18,145,000 after acquiring an additional 12,345 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 5,322 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth about $71,312,000. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $5,839,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 490,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at $95,564,585.40. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.88, for a total transaction of $2,528,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 789,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,720,577.92. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 730,576 shares of company stock valued at $133,778,494. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Stock Down 2.9%

AVGO traded down $7.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $248.70. 19,002,301 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,383,406. Broadcom Inc. has a 12-month low of $128.50 and a 12-month high of $265.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $213.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.50. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 202.86, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.11.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. Broadcom's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.96 EPS. Analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AVGO. Benchmark increased their price objective on Broadcom from $255.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Truist Financial set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $276.09.

About Broadcom

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.