Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 632,511 Shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its position in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,304,035 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 632,511 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises about 6.5% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $1,229,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVGO. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Broadcom by 948.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,434,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,814,902,000 after acquiring an additional 166,844,263 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 976.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,188,826 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,055,760,000 after purchasing an additional 89,975,941 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Broadcom by 1,121.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 90,400,508 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $15,594,088,000 after purchasing an additional 82,998,328 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Broadcom by 842.4% during 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 975.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,819,675 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,833,894,000 after purchasing an additional 30,674,902 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, Director Diane M. Bryant sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total transaction of $3,400,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,460 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,352.80. This represents a 69.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Harry L. You sold 6,540 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $1,569,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,308,000. The trade was a 17.68 % decrease in their position. 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 company insiders.

Broadcom Price Performance

NASDAQ:AVGO opened at $187.37 on Tuesday. Broadcom Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.76 and a 52 week high of $251.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.50. The firm has a market cap of $878.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 191.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Broadcom in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on Broadcom from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Broadcom from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Broadcom from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.