Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Welch & Forbes LLC cut its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,227 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 104 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $3,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVGO. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 25 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AVGO. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $1,405.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $1,450.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,500.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,700.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,500.00 price objective (up from $1,100.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,285.41.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of AVGO traded down $7.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1,303.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,240,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,871,969. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,308.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,157.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $603.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.30, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.25. Broadcom Inc. has a 12-month low of $615.86 and a 12-month high of $1,438.17.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $10.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.95 by $2.04. The business had revenue of $11.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.79 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 29.93% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.83 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 35.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $5.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $21.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,316.46, for a total value of $3,291,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,257,092.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,316.46, for a total value of $3,291,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,257,092.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 5,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,344.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,575 shares in the company, valued at $22,276,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,920 shares of company stock valued at $40,306,667. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.