Merit Financial Group LLC Has $25.79 Million Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 79.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,238 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,183 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $25,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVGO. Castleview Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,030.8% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Broadcom by 900.0% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,323.1% in the third quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,073.7% during the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% during the third quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 240 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $237.44 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $202.01 and its 200 day moving average is $178.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 193.67, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. Broadcom Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.19 and a 52-week high of $251.88.

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

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 192.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.79, for a total transaction of $4,815,916.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 321,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,809,191.40. This trade represents a 5.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total transaction of $9,279,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 696,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,627,425.40. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVGO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Broadcom from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.83.

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.