Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) Stake Lifted by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 243,632 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 6,872 shares during the period. Broadcom accounts for approximately 1.8% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $56,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its position in Broadcom by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,685 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Broadcom by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Marest Capital LLC boosted its position in Broadcom by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Marest Capital LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Defined Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,947,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $235.04 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $221.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.71, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Broadcom Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.76 and a 1-year high of $251.88.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 192.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVGO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Broadcom from $265.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.04.

Insider Activity

In other Broadcom news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total value of $918,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $1,569,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,308,000. The trade was a 17.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.