Bridgewater Associates LP Boosts Position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 3,805.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 955,433 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 930,969 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises approximately 0.9% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $164,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $15,594,088,000 after acquiring an additional 82,998,328 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Broadcom by 842.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 35,998,595 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $6,209,758,000 after purchasing an additional 32,178,542 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Broadcom by 962.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,997,455 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,519,591,000 after purchasing an additional 28,985,434 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 938.8% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 23,422,781 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,040,430,000 after buying an additional 21,168,095 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 858.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 18,369,841 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,168,798,000 after buying an additional 16,453,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of AVGO stock opened at $159.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Broadcom Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.31 and a 12 month high of $186.42. The stock has a market cap of $745.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 138.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.49.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. Broadcom had a return on equity of 30.12% and a net margin of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $13.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Broadcom’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 184.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 15,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.44, for a total transaction of $2,893,968.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 737,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,781,155.20. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 18,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.88, for a total value of $3,456,432.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 380,560 shares in the company, valued at $69,596,812.80. The trade was a 4.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 311,080 shares of company stock worth $53,540,590. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVGO has been the subject of several research reports. William Blair started coverage on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen raised shares of Broadcom to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Broadcom from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Broadcom from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Broadcom from $2,400.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.96.

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.