First National Trust Co Sells 4,651 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Key Points

• First National Trust Co reduced its holdings in Broadcom Inc. by 2.2%, selling 4,651 shares, resulting in their total ownership of 206,019 shares valued at approximately $34.5 million.
• Broadcom's Board of Directors has approved a $10 billion stock buyback plan, indicating a belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Broadcom, with estimates now ranging from $270 to $400, while the stock currently holds an average rating of "Buy" with a target of $292.08.

First National Trust Co cut its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 206,019 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 4,651 shares during the quarter. Broadcom makes up approximately 1.4% of First National Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. First National Trust Co's holdings in Broadcom were worth $34,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,207,120 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $23,647,209,000 after purchasing an additional 3,018,294 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 93,274,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $21,624,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873,809 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 49,087,351 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $11,380,411,000 after purchasing an additional 5,258,925 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 47,524,533 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $11,018,089,000 after purchasing an additional 15,171,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 34,401,379 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $7,975,616,000 after purchasing an additional 581,704 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of Broadcom stock traded down $5.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $288.64. The stock had a trading volume of 21,405,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,886,023. Broadcom Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $128.50 and a fifty-two week high of $306.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 108.10, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $265.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.11.

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

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 20th. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.39%.

Broadcom declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, April 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor manufacturer to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVGO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. HSBC upgraded Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Broadcom from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Broadcom from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $294.92.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 36,350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.27, for a total value of $9,497,164.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 325,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $85,066,115.49. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.29, for a total value of $10,731,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 482,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,540,070.44. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 830,516 shares of company stock worth $217,224,641. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.