World Equity Group Inc. Acquires 587 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,497 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $1,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 948.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,814,902,000 after buying an additional 166,844,263 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Broadcom by 976.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $17,055,760,000 after acquiring an additional 89,975,941 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Broadcom by 1,121.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,594,088,000 after acquiring an additional 82,998,328 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 842.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,209,758,000 after acquiring an additional 32,178,542 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 975.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,819,675 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,833,894,000 after purchasing an additional 30,674,902 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $1,569,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,308,000. This trade represents a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total value of $9,279,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 696,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,627,425.40. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Down 4.9 %

AVGO stock opened at $207.93 on Tuesday. Broadcom Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.76 and a 52 week high of $251.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $974.64 billion, a PE ratio of 169.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.02.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 192.50%.

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.