Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 2,270 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Broadcom Inc. by 2.8%, now holding 78,404 shares valued at approximately $13.1 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Broadcom recently, with Brighton Jones LLC boosting its stake by 21.8% in the 4th quarter.
• Broadcom announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share and initiated a stock buyback plan of $10 billion, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,404 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 2,270 shares during the period. Broadcom accounts for 0.9% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Broadcom were worth $13,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 21.8% in the 4th 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. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,997 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,199 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $51,283,000 after purchasing an additional 31,225 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 25,522 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $5,917,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Broadcom Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $290.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 108.68, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.12. Broadcom Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.50 and a 1-year high of $292.59. The company's fifty day moving average price is $260.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

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

Broadcom declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AVGO shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $223.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $292.08.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 36,350 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 325,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,066,115.49. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gayla J. Delly sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.13, for a total transaction of $795,390.00. Following the sale, the director owned 33,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,842,615.76. This represents a 8.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 830,516 shares of company stock valued at $217,224,641 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Broadcom Company 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.

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