Optas LLC Has $5.19 Million Stock Holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Optas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 918.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,090 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 27,136 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises about 1.2% of Optas LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Optas LLC’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $5,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVGO. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Broadcom by 1,030.8% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN boosted its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 24 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its position in Broadcom by 1,073.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Broadcom in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Broadcom in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.37, for a total value of $8,168,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,331,910 shares in the company, valued at $217,594,136.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Broadcom news, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 20,280 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $3,591,588.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 399,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,744,366. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.37, for a total transaction of $8,168,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,331,910 shares in the company, valued at $217,594,136.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 311,080 shares of company stock worth $53,540,590 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of AVGO opened at $173.90 on Wednesday. Broadcom Inc. has a one year low of $87.12 and a one year high of $186.42. The company has a market cap of $812.21 billion, a PE ratio of 151.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $169.37 and a 200-day moving average of $156.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $13.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Broadcom Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Broadcom’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 184.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Broadcom from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on shares of Broadcom from $2,400.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Broadcom from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Broadcom from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.79.

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.