Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Trims Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,152 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 3,917 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Broadcom were worth $11,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aspiring Ventures LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Hillman Co. acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth $18,049,000. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 9,163 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. acquired a new position in Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at $1,768,000. Finally, Bennett Selby Investments LP boosted its stake in Broadcom by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 2,035 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total transaction of $3,400,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,464,352.80. This trade represents a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total transaction of $918,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of AVGO stock traded up $5.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $221.15. 24,508,305 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,026,480. Broadcom Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.43 and a 12 month high of $251.88. The company has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 180.59, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50 day moving average price is $212.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. This is an increase from Broadcom's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom's payout ratio is currently 192.50%.

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.