Ascent Capital Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Ascent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,994 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,000. Broadcom comprises 1.2% of Ascent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Broadcom by 948.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,814,902,000 after acquiring an additional 166,844,263 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $17,055,760,000 after purchasing an additional 89,975,941 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Broadcom by 1,121.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,594,088,000 after purchasing an additional 82,998,328 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Broadcom by 842.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,209,758,000 after buying an additional 32,178,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Broadcom by 975.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,819,675 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,833,894,000 after buying an additional 30,674,902 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In related news, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 12,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.62, for a total transaction of $2,886,323.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 325,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,728,221.66. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $1,569,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,308,000. This trade represents a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Broadcom stock opened at $195.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $919.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Broadcom Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.76 and a 12-month high of $251.88.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 113.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AVGO shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.48.

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.