Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 808,691 Shares of Broadcom Inc. $AVGO

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGOFree Report) by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,981,186 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 808,691 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises about 3.2% of Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $983,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Broadcom by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,520,266 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,810,921,000 after buying an additional 241,528 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 3.7% during the third quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,858 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 5.4% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 382,245 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $126,106,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the period. Brand Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 25.2% in the third quarter. Brand Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 1,971 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in Broadcom by 2.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,161,908 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $383,325,000 after purchasing an additional 26,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Price Performance

Shares of AVGO stock opened at $319.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Broadcom Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.10 and a 12-month high of $414.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $336.34 and a 200-day moving average of $342.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.21.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGOGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.08. Broadcom had a return on equity of 37.45% and a net margin of 36.20%.The firm had revenue of $18.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVGO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $430.00 price target on shares of Broadcom and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Broadcom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $433.13.

Check Out Our Latest Report on AVGO

Key Stories Impacting Broadcom

Here are the key news stories impacting Broadcom this week:

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In related news, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.82, for a total transaction of $10,434,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 277,237 shares in the company, valued at $96,428,573.34. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 1,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.80, for a total transaction of $631,998.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,582 shares in the company, valued at $7,730,179.60. This represents a 7.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 779,101 shares of company stock worth $283,804,325 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Profile

(Free Report)

Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO) is a global technology company that designs, develops and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions for a broad range of markets. The company’s semiconductor business provides components and systems for wired and wireless communications, enterprise and cloud storage, networking and broadband access, serving original equipment manufacturers, cloud service providers, telecommunications carriers and industrial customers worldwide. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, California, and operates globally with research, development and sales organizations across North America, Europe and Asia.

On the semiconductor side, Broadcom’s portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions, radio-frequency and connectivity components, Ethernet switching and PHY devices, storage adapters and controllers, optical transceivers and other networking silicon.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)

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