Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 386 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Broadcom by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,655,402 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,866,684,000 after buying an additional 93,615 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Broadcom by 43.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,025,658 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,343,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228,755 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,019,122 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,338,203,000 after purchasing an additional 573,826 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 113,495.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,327,217 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $37,140,060,000 after buying an additional 3,324,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,206,601 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,663,339,000 after buying an additional 514,120 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth Hao sold 9,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,388.13, for a total transaction of $12,715,270.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,465.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 3,150 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 4,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,991,048.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth Hao sold 9,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,388.13, for a total value of $12,715,270.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,465.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,920 shares of company stock valued at $40,306,667. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Broadcom Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVGO traded down $7.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1,303.11. 1,240,937 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,871,969. Broadcom Inc. has a 52 week low of $615.86 and a 52 week high of $1,438.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $603.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,308.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,157.75.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $10.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue was up 34.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 35.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $21.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 77.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Broadcom from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $1,400.00 to $1,500.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,720.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,620.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $1,300.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $1,405.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,285.41.

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.