Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,132,922 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 109,547 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises 1.5% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $1,818,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 2.7% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 291,078 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $467,334,000 after acquiring an additional 7,608 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 78,268 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $87,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 19.1% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 524,537 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $842,160,000 after acquiring an additional 84,196 shares in the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP bought a new stake in Broadcom in the second quarter worth $60,368,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 13.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 95,011 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $152,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,422 shares during the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 7,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,705.95, for a total transaction of $12,798,036.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,191 shares in the company, valued at $235,746,936.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Broadcom news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 7,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,705.95, for a total transaction of $12,798,036.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,191 shares in the company, valued at $235,746,936.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gayla J. Delly sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.53, for a total value of $130,897.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,750 shares in the company, valued at $6,064,917.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 233,452 shares of company stock valued at $51,278,838. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $172.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.55. Broadcom Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.89 and a 52-week high of $185.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $802.97 billion, a PE ratio of 7.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.16.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.98 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVGO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Broadcom from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Melius initiated coverage on Broadcom in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. William Blair initiated coverage on Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Broadcom from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Broadcom from $2,400.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.23.

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.