Optas LLC Purchases 264 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Optas LLC increased its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,354 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Broadcom accounts for approximately 1.5% of Optas LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Optas LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $7,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1,030.8% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Broadcom by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Broadcom by 1,323.1% in the third quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVGO shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Broadcom from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.04.

Insider Transactions at Broadcom

In related news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.98, for a total value of $9,279,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 696,730 shares in the company, valued at $161,627,425.40. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total transaction of $918,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,655,296. This represents a 7.94 % 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 valued at $44,964,800 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Broadcom Trading Up 4.3 %

NASDAQ AVGO opened at $232.00 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $215.62 and its 200 day moving average is $183.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 189.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.02. Broadcom Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.76 and a twelve month high of $251.88.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 192.50%.

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.