Inspire Investing LLC Raises Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,605 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,298 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $4,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Broadcom by 948.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,814,902,000 after purchasing an additional 166,844,263 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $17,055,760,000 after buying an additional 89,975,941 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $15,594,088,000 after buying an additional 82,998,328 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 842.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $6,209,758,000 after buying an additional 32,178,542 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 975.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,819,675 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,833,894,000 after acquiring an additional 30,674,902 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Broadcom has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.83.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.79, for a total transaction of $4,815,916.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 321,660 shares in the company, valued at $76,809,191.40. This represents a 5.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total value of $918,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Broadcom Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $244.70 on Friday. 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 $1.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 199.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. Broadcom Inc. has a one year low of $117.43 and a one year high of $251.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.62.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 192.50%.

Broadcom Company 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.