Bridgewater Associates LP Has $152.39 Million Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 657,290 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 298,143 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises approximately 0.7% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $152,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kane Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Broadcom in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,647,000. M Holdings Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. now owns 14,204 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,293,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Broadcom during the 4th quarter worth $856,000. Chiron Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the 4th quarter valued at about $779,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter valued at about $105,774,000. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Down 2.0 %

Broadcom stock opened at $178.36 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $838.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. Broadcom Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.76 and a 1-year high of $251.88.

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

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total transaction of $120,578,041.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,798,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,045,847,733.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $5,839,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This represents a 5.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVGO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Broadcom from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.