Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Has $607,000 Holdings in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 88.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 543 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVGO. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P increased its stake in Broadcom by 94.4% during the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 75,090 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $47,283,000 after purchasing an additional 36,458 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its position in Broadcom by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,945 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Broadcom by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 509,603 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $320,887,000 after purchasing an additional 87,945 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Broadcom by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 40,357 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $25,412,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the 1st quarter worth $1,095,000. 76.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AVGO shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Broadcom from $1,450.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Broadcom from $1,300.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Monday, December 11th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,500.00 price objective (up from $1,100.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Broadcom from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Broadcom currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,230.18.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other Broadcom news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,344.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,575 shares in the company, valued at $22,276,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.14, for a total transaction of $2,607,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 26,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,039,603.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,344.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,276,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,810 shares of company stock worth $26,107,692. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AVGO traded up $1.34 on Thursday, hitting $1,320.07. 850,944 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,077,440. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $611.75 billion, a PE ratio of 48.75, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.26. Broadcom Inc. has a 52 week low of $601.29 and a 52 week high of $1,438.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,267.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,061.46.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $10.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.95 by $2.04. Broadcom had a return on equity of 47.71% and a net margin of 29.93%. The business had revenue of $11.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Broadcom Inc. will post 36.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $5.25 per share. This represents a $21.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

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.