Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 6,540,800 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 1,019.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,182,409 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 6,540,800 shares during the period. Broadcom makes up approximately 0.7% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Broadcom worth $1,238,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WNY Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 315 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 1.6% during the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 2,360 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,128,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 24.5% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $4,175,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Broadcom by 36.3% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,003 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $30,488,000 after purchasing an additional 6,132 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,376 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $8,451,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.44, for a total value of $2,893,968.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 737,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $133,781,155.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.44, for a total value of $2,893,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 737,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $133,781,155.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 25,200 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.27, for a total transaction of $4,240,404.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 753,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,754,425.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 311,080 shares of company stock worth $53,540,590 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Broadcom Trading Down 0.1 %

Broadcom stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $183.64. The stock had a trading volume of 13,503,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,921,780. The stock has a market capitalization of $857.70 billion, a PE ratio of 159.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.17. Broadcom Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.31 and a 12 month high of $186.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.78.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. Broadcom had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 30.12%. The company had revenue of $13.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Broadcom's revenue was up 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is an increase from Broadcom's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom's dividend payout ratio is 184.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on AVGO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Broadcom from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Broadcom from $2,000.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, September 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Broadcom to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.79.

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.