Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Boosts Stake in Broadcom Inc. $AVGO

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its stake in Broadcom Inc. by 3.7%, now holding 147,269 shares valued at approximately $24.66 million.
• Broadcom's quarterly earnings showed a profit of $1.58 per share on revenue of $15 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 88.39%.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,269 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,317 shares during the period. Broadcom accounts for approximately 0.9% of Freestone Capital Holdings LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC's holdings in Broadcom were worth $24,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AVGO. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the first quarter worth $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the first quarter worth $25,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the first quarter worth $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Broadcom Stock Performance

AVGO traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $305.76. 14,705,522 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,400,806. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $279.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Broadcom Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.90 and a 1-year high of $317.35.

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

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other news, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 36,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.29, for a total transaction of $10,731,600.00. Following the sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 830,516 shares of company stock worth $217,286,457. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVGO shares. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Broadcom from $223.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Broadcom from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Broadcom from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Broadcom from $250.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $295.96.

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.