Sigma Planning Corp Decreases Holdings in Broadcom Inc. $AVGO

Key Points

• Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its Broadcom stake by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,374 shares and leaving it with 75,918 shares valued at about $26.4 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive overall, with Broadcom holding an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $435.30, despite Weiss Ratings cutting its view to Hold.
• The article highlights mixed company news: Broadcom shares are being pressured by reports that OpenAI’s planned $18 billion custom chip deal hit a financing snag, even as the company continues to post strong earnings and expand its AI-related product lineup.

Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,918 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 1,374 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises approximately 0.7% of Sigma Planning Corp's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Broadcom were worth $26,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 482,707,302 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $167,064,997,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919,715 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 39,149,651 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $12,915,861,000 after purchasing an additional 700,021 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 33,450,786 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $11,035,749,000 after purchasing an additional 748,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,511,195 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $9,736,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Broadcom by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 22,216,816 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $7,453,320,000 after buying an additional 716,523 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVGO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Broadcom from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Broadcom from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Broadcom from $462.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $435.30.

Key Stories Impacting Broadcom

Here are the key news stories impacting Broadcom this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Broadcom shares are under pressure after reports said OpenAI’s planned $18 billion custom chip deal with the company hit a financing roadblock, creating uncertainty around a key AI revenue driver. Broadcom shares slump as OpenAI’s $18B custom chip deal hits financing snag
• Negative Sentiment: Another report framed the OpenAI issue as a major setback for Broadcom’s custom AI chip ambitions, adding concern that one of its flagship customer relationships may not be as immediately monetizable as investors hoped. Broadcom's OpenAI mega AI deal hits $18 billion wall
• Neutral Sentiment: Broadcom also announced VMware by Broadcom VCF 9.1, a product update aimed at accelerating production AI workloads in private clouds, which supports the company’s long-term enterprise AI strategy. Broadcom (AVGO) Launches VCF 9.1 to Accelerate Production AI in Private Clouds
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces remained constructive on Broadcom’s position in the AI infrastructure stack, noting that recent hyperscaler results still support demand for chips and networking tied to AI buildouts. Big Tech earnings support Broadcom’s outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Broadcom was also mentioned in a public-sector VMware partnership update, which could help broaden enterprise distribution but is not likely the main driver of the stock today. evoila U.S. and Carahsoft Partner to Deliver VMware by Broadcom Services to the Public Sector

Broadcom Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of AVGO stock opened at $430.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 83.98, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.90. Broadcom Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.52 and a 52-week high of $437.68.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $19.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.10 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 36.57%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 9.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 23rd were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.78%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other news, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 36,292 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.60, for a total transaction of $11,671,507.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 327,760 shares in the company, valued at $105,407,616. This trade represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider S. Ram Velaga sold 38,841 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.60, for a total value of $12,491,265.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 96,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,920,875.20. The trade was a 28.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 324,282 shares of company stock worth $106,425,249. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Inc NASDAQ: AVGO is a global technology company that designs, develops and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions for a broad range of markets. The company's semiconductor business provides components and systems for wired and wireless communications, enterprise and cloud storage, networking and broadband access, serving original equipment manufacturers, cloud service providers, telecommunications carriers and industrial customers worldwide. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, California, and operates globally with research, development and sales organizations across North America, Europe and Asia.

On the semiconductor side, Broadcom's portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions, radio-frequency and connectivity components, Ethernet switching and PHY devices, storage adapters and controllers, optical transceivers and other networking silicon.

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