Freestone Grove Partners LP Purchases New Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 194,303 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $45,047,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVGO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 475,134,603 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $110,155,206,000 after purchasing an additional 6,573,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,207,120 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $23,647,209,000 after buying an additional 3,018,294 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Broadcom by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 93,274,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $21,624,718,000 after buying an additional 2,873,809 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth $16,893,010,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 49,087,351 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $11,380,411,000 after acquiring an additional 5,258,925 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadcom Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AVGO traded up $6.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $203.64. The company had a trading volume of 17,749,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,190,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $957.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 166.10, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.48. Broadcom Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.71 and a 12-month high of $251.88.

Broadcom declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, April 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor manufacturer to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $148,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,695,300. This trade represents a 3.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $5,839,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This represents a 5.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 719,776 shares of company stock worth $131,065,542 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVGO. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price target on Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.48.

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.