Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,795 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 51,344 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises about 1.9% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $47,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVGO. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Broadcom by 2.5% in 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 position in shares of Broadcom by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,685 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Marest Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Broadcom by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Marest Capital LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Defined Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Broadcom by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,947,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $5,839,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This represents a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total value of $120,578,041.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,798,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,045,847,733.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AVGO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.48.

Broadcom Stock Performance

NASDAQ AVGO opened at $156.03 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $198.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.95. Broadcom Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.76 and a fifty-two week high of $251.88. The company has a market cap of $733.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Broadcom announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.46%.

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.