Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,250 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the quarter. Broadcom accounts for about 0.9% of Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $19,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVGO. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom in the second quarter valued at about $128,000. RiverGlades Family Offices LLC purchased a new position in Broadcom in the second quarter valued at about $210,000. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN acquired a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA purchased a new stake in shares of Broadcom during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AVGO. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Broadcom from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.83.

Broadcom Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $237.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 193.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $200.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.60. Broadcom Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.19 and a fifty-two week high of $251.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. Broadcom had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This is an increase from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is 191.87%.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total value of $3,400,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,352.80. This trade represents a 69.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,655,296. The trade was a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.