Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is Lazard Asset Management LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,091,646 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,124,856 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises approximately 1.4% of Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $948,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellevue Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVGO. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Broadcom from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Broadcom currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.48.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of AVGO opened at $208.26 on Monday. Broadcom Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.50 and a 52-week high of $251.88. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $979.23 billion, a PE ratio of 169.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $182.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.68.

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 given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.46%.

Broadcom announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $4,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 465,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,872,080. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $148,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,380 shares in the company, valued at $4,695,300. The trade was a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 719,776 shares of company stock valued at $131,065,542 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.