Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 245,767 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 15,901 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises approximately 1.2% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $56,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bellevue Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Broadcom by 900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Broadcom during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 76.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVGO. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, March 7th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Broadcom to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.48.

Broadcom Stock Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $188.67 on Wednesday. Broadcom Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.76 and a twelve month high of $251.88. The company has a market cap of $887.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 153.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.61. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 12,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.62, for a total transaction of $2,886,323.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 325,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,728,221.66. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total value of $3,400,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,352.80. This represents a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 184,738 shares of company stock worth $43,395,200. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About Broadcom

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.