Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,880 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,457 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises about 3.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $75,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the fourth quarter worth $2,222,676,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Broadcom by 122,794.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,667,161 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,050,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,664,177 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Broadcom by 113,495.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,327,217 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $37,140,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,324,288 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 49,919.1% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,437,432 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432,559 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 43.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,025,658 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,343,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228,755 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,318.97, for a total value of $3,297,425.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $61,957,296.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 2,500 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,318.97, for a total value of $3,297,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $61,957,296.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 3,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,290.34, for a total value of $4,064,571.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,991,048.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,920 shares of company stock worth $40,306,667 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVGO. UBS Group lifted their target price on Broadcom to $1,480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,500.00 price objective on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,700.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $1,450.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Broadcom from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,285.41.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AVGO traded down $54.28 on Friday, hitting $1,204.71. The company had a trading volume of 4,477,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,968,402. The stock has a market cap of $558.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,305.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,118.75. Broadcom Inc. has a 1-year low of $601.29 and a 1-year high of $1,438.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $10.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.95 by $2.04. The business had revenue of $11.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.79 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 29.93% and a return on equity of 47.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.83 EPS. Broadcom’s quarterly revenue was up 34.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 35.88 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $5.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $21.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Broadcom’s payout ratio is currently 77.84%.

Broadcom Company 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.