Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Sold by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management reduced its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 42.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 571,678 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 418,150 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises about 1.2% of Zacks Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $132,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 475,134,603 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $110,155,206,000 after purchasing an additional 6,573,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,207,120 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $23,647,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018,294 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Broadcom by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 93,274,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $21,624,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873,809 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth about $16,893,010,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Broadcom by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,808,362 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,606,291,000 after buying an additional 810,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total value of $120,578,041.60. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $5,839,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 490,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,564,585.40. This trade represents a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 718,976 shares of company stock valued at $130,917,542 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.68.

Broadcom Price Performance

AVGO stock opened at $178.95 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $193.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.03. Broadcom Inc. has a one year low of $119.76 and a one year high of $251.88. The company has a market capitalization of $841.41 billion, a PE ratio of 145.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Broadcom announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, April 7th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor manufacturer to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 113.46%.

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.