Fayez Sarofim & Co Acquires 2,820 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,960 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Broadcom were worth $15,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 475,134,603 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $110,155,206,000 after purchasing an additional 6,573,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Broadcom by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,207,120 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $23,647,209,000 after buying an additional 3,018,294 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 93,274,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $21,624,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,873,809 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth $16,893,010,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,808,362 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $7,606,291,000 after acquiring an additional 810,907 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Broadcom Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of AVGO traded up $7.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $176.88. The stock had a trading volume of 24,335,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,291,031. Broadcom Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.33 and a 52 week high of $251.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $185.99 and a 200 day moving average of $195.85. The company has a market cap of $831.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Broadcom declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Broadcom's payout ratio is 113.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $5,839,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,956 shares in the company, valued at $95,564,585.40. This trade represents a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Henry Samueli sold 663,976 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total transaction of $120,578,041.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,798,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,045,847,733.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 719,776 shares of company stock worth $131,065,542. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVGO shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.48.

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.