Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Broadcom by 8.3%, owning 98,120 shares worth approximately $16.4 million, making it the firm's 20th largest position.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their stakes in Broadcom, with GAMMA Investing LLC lifting its position by an astonishing 18,179.3% in the first quarter, accumulating shares valued at nearly $2.9 billion.
• Broadcom recently announced a share buyback plan totaling $10 billion, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued, alongside a recently declared quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 98,120 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,499 shares during the period. Broadcom makes up approximately 1.0% of Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Broadcom were worth $16,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $23,647,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018,294 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position 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 valued at $21,624,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,873,809 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position 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 valued at $11,380,411,000 after acquiring an additional 5,258,925 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position 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 valued at $11,018,089,000 after acquiring an additional 15,171,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position 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 valued at $7,975,616,000 after acquiring an additional 581,704 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Henry Samueli sold 473,898 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.33, for a total value of $125,739,356.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 38,188,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,132,574,604.75. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 117,758 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.91, for a total value of $29,782,175.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,014,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,489,182.32. This trade represents a 10.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 830,516 shares of company stock valued at $217,224,641. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AVGO traded down $4.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $289.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,075,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,824,303. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 108.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.12. Broadcom Inc. has a 12 month low of $128.50 and a 12 month high of $306.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $265.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.11.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.01. The business 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Broadcom's payout ratio is 88.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AVGO shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial set a $295.00 target price on shares of Broadcom and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $304.00 target price (up previously from $267.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $294.92.

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.