Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Sold by Stamos Capital Partners L.P.

Stamos Capital Partners L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 31.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 4,970 shares during the period. Stamos Capital Partners L.P.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $2,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 2,219.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 1,019.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,182,409 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,238,966,000 after acquiring an additional 6,540,800 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 928.6% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,024 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 793.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 402 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Passumpsic Savings Bank increased its stake in Broadcom by 900.9% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 15,904 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,743,000 after acquiring an additional 14,315 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadcom Trading Up 5.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $181.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $855.47 billion, a PE ratio of 148.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $195.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.99. Broadcom Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.76 and a 52 week high of $251.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Broadcom declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.46%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $5,839,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This represents a 5.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total transaction of $120,578,041.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,798,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,045,847,733.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AVGO. KeyCorp increased their price target on Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Broadcom from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Broadcom from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.68.

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.