Optas LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Optas LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,354 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises about 1.5% of Optas LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Optas LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $7,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVGO. GDS Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 11,504 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Rheos Capital Works Inc. boosted its position in Broadcom by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 142,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $32,921,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Broadcom by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,398 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Broadcom in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, HFG Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadcom Stock Up 4.3 %

NASDAQ AVGO opened at $232.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $215.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.06. Broadcom Inc. has a one year low of $119.76 and a one year high of $251.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 189.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.02.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Broadcom’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 192.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total transaction of $9,279,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at $161,627,425.40. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total transaction of $11,296,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 113,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,606,317.50. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock valued at $44,964,800 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Hsbc Global Res raised Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.04.

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.