West Paces Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

West Paces Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,883 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. Broadcom accounts for 0.6% of West Paces Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $2,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P boosted its position in Broadcom by 94.4% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 75,090 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $47,283,000 after purchasing an additional 36,458 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,945 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Broadcom by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 509,603 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $320,887,000 after buying an additional 87,945 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Broadcom by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 40,357 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,412,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom during the first quarter worth $1,095,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,720.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $1,405.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Broadcom in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,620.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Broadcom from $1,300.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Broadcom from $1,450.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,281.09.

Insider Activity

In other Broadcom news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,312.25, for a total transaction of $2,624,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,096 shares in the company, valued at $220,583,976. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 3,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,290.34, for a total value of $4,064,571.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,991,048.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 2,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,312.25, for a total value of $2,624,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,583,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,920 shares of company stock worth $40,306,667. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVGO traded up $18.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,329.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,845,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,960,397. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,304.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,110.50. Broadcom Inc. has a one year low of $601.29 and a one year high of $1,438.17. The firm has a market cap of $615.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.76, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $10.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.95 by $2.04. The firm had revenue of $11.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.79 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 29.93% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The company’s revenue was up 34.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 35.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $5.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $21.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Broadcom 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.