Pitcairn Co. Boosts Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Pitcairn Co. increased its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 807.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,133 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 88,213 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises 1.0% of Pitcairn Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $17,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 842.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $6,209,758,000 after buying an additional 32,178,542 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Broadcom by 962.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,997,455 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,519,591,000 after acquiring an additional 28,985,434 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Broadcom by 858.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 18,369,841 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,168,798,000 after acquiring an additional 16,453,718 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 907.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,125,930 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,264,223,000 after purchasing an additional 11,822,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 917.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,701,500 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,203,837,000 after purchasing an additional 11,453,554 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Up 0.4 %

AVGO stock opened at $164.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.86. Broadcom Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.31 and a 12 month high of $186.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $769.80 billion, a PE ratio of 143.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.17.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. Broadcom had a return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $13.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Broadcom’s quarterly revenue was up 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 184.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 25,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.27, for a total value of $4,240,404.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 753,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,754,425.60. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,280 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total value of $3,591,588.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 399,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,744,366. This trade represents a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 311,080 shares of company stock valued at $53,540,590 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVGO has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $2,400.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Broadcom from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.96.

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.