Verity & Verity LLC Buys 257,340 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO - Free Report) by 901.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 285,901 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 257,340 shares during the quarter. Broadcom accounts for 4.8% of Verity & Verity LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Broadcom were worth $49,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 16,453,718 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Broadcom by 907.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,125,930 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $2,264,223,000 after acquiring an additional 11,822,467 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 917.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 11,453,554 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 855.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 12,674,158 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $2,186,292,000 after acquiring an additional 11,347,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Broadcom by 908.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 11,374,079 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,962,029,000 after purchasing an additional 10,245,786 shares during the period. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In other news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.37, for a total transaction of $8,168,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,331,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,594,136.70. The trade was a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.44, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 311,080 shares of company stock worth $53,540,590 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of Broadcom stock traded down $1.38 on Friday, reaching $162.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,394,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,229,432. Broadcom Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.31 and a fifty-two week high of $186.42. The business's 50-day moving average price is $173.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $759.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Broadcom's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. Broadcom's payout ratio is currently 184.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVGO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on Broadcom from $2,400.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company 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. William Blair began coverage on Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Broadcom from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.