Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 988,772 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 17.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,836,319 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 988,772 shares during the period. Broadcom makes up approximately 1.5% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $809,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,832 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $782,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Broadcom by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of AVGO stock opened at $264.65 on Thursday. Broadcom Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.50 and a 52-week high of $269.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 99.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.98.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.01. Broadcom had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 22.64%. The company had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.96 earnings per share. Broadcom’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.39%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVGO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Broadcom from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Erste Group Bank raised Broadcom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Benchmark increased their price target on Broadcom from $255.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Broadcom from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Broadcom to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.88, for a total value of $2,528,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 789,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,720,577.92. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.17, for a total transaction of $10,486,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 974,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $255,393,429.84. The trade was a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 301,468 shares of company stock valued at $74,670,250. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About Broadcom

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.