WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $96.24 Million Holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 415,111 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 19,591 shares during the period. Broadcom makes up approximately 3.5% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $96,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AVGO. Castleview Partners LLC raised its position in Broadcom by 1,030.8% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Broadcom by 900.0% during the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC raised its position in Broadcom by 1,323.1% during the third quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Broadcom during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Broadcom Price Performance

AVGO stock opened at $233.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 190.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $226.16 and its 200-day moving average is $187.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Broadcom Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.76 and a 1 year high of $251.88.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 192.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eddy W. Hartenstein sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.64, for a total value of $918,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,400 shares in the company, valued at $10,655,296. This represents a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Check Kian Low sold 48,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.35, for a total transaction of $11,296,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 113,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,606,317.50. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,278 shares of company stock worth $44,964,800 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AVGO. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Broadcom from $265.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $201.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.04.

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.