Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 1,068,184 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,539,787 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,068,184 shares during the period. Broadcom makes up approximately 1.9% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $1,052,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,685 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Marest Capital LLC raised its stake in Broadcom by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Marest Capital LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Defined Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Broadcom by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,947,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $5,839,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 490,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This trade represents a 5.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total value of $120,578,041.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,798,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,045,847,733.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 719,776 shares of company stock valued at $131,065,542. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVGO opened at $207.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Broadcom Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.50 and a 1-year high of $251.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $182.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $976.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 169.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Broadcom from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.48.

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.