Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Raises Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,600 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises 1.2% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $1,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Broadcom by 1,323.1% in the third quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadcom Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $199.29 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $119.76 and a 12 month high of $251.88. The company has a market cap of $934.16 billion, a PE ratio of 162.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.35.

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

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 191.87%.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total transaction of $918,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at $10,655,296. This trade represents a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at $7,308,000. This represents a 17.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVGO. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.04.

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.