UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Grows Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Broadcom Inc. by 2.4%, owning over 35 million shares valued at approximately $5.9 billion, making Broadcom its 6th largest investment.
• Insider selling included significant transactions by director Henry Samueli, who sold around 474,000 shares for over $125 million, and CFO Kirsten M. Spears, who sold 56,310 shares for approximately $14.2 million.
• Recent analyst actions show a positive outlook for Broadcom, with several upgrades and a consensus "Buy" rating, and an average price target of $295.96.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,243,467 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 842,088 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises about 1.5% of UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.75% of Broadcom worth $5,900,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Broadcom in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Broadcom in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadcom during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, Director Henry Samueli sold 473,898 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 38,188,575 shares in the company, valued at $10,132,574,604.75. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 56,310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.75, for a total transaction of $14,176,042.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 361,937 shares in the company, valued at $91,117,639.75. This represents a 13.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 830,516 shares of company stock valued at $217,286,457 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AVGO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley set a $338.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Broadcom from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One 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 MarketBeat.com, Broadcom has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $295.96.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of AVGO stock opened at $306.34 on Friday. Broadcom Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.90 and a 1 year high of $317.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $278.27 and its 200-day moving average is $229.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.73, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.01. Broadcom had a net margin of 22.64% and a return on equity of 35.49%. The company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.96 earnings per share. Broadcom's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

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

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.

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