L & S Advisors Inc Trims Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Broadcom Inc. by 26.8% in the first quarter, selling 18,106 shares and now holding a total of 49,469 shares valued at approximately $8.3 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 76.43% of Broadcom's shares, with several funds increasing their positions significantly, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Price T Rowe Associates Inc.
• Broadcom recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share and has authorized a $10 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's value.

L & S Advisors Inc decreased its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,469 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 18,106 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises approximately 1.0% of L & S Advisors Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Broadcom were worth $8,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 2.4% in the first quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. American Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 3.8% in the first quarter. American Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, GS Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 0.5% in the first quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 11,397 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,908,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Trading Down 1.7%

Broadcom stock traded down $5.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $288.64. 21,405,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,067,202. Broadcom Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.50 and a 52-week high of $306.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 108.10, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.15. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $266.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.50.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $14.98 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 22.64%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 88.39%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AVGO. Morgan Stanley set a $338.00 target price on Broadcom and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Broadcom from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Broadcom from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Arete Research raised Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Broadcom has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $294.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 789,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,720,577.92. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 473,898 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.33, for a total value of $125,739,356.34. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,188,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,132,574,604.75. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 830,516 shares of company stock worth $217,224,641 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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.