Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,630 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 706 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $1,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,832 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,397 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 451 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AVGO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Broadcom from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Broadcom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America raised their target price on Broadcom from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Broadcom from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.25.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In related news, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.19, for a total value of $184,152.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,834.58. This represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total value of $120,578,041.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,798,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,045,847,733.60. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 720,576 shares of company stock valued at $131,249,694 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of AVGO opened at $246.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $203.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.22. Broadcom Inc. has a 52 week low of $128.50 and a 52 week high of $265.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 201.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.11.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.01. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The firm had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.46%.

Broadcom declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.