Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Boosts Stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 344.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 280,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 217,000 shares during the quarter. Broadcom comprises 1.0% of Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $64,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Broadcom by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 475,134,603 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $110,155,206,000 after buying an additional 6,573,204 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,207,120 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $23,647,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018,294 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Broadcom by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 93,274,317 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $21,624,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873,809 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Broadcom in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,893,010,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Broadcom by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 49,087,351 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $11,380,411,000 after purchasing an additional 5,258,925 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In other news, Director Justine Page sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $148,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,695,300. The trade was a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Mark David Brazeal sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $5,839,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 490,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,564,585.40. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 719,776 shares of company stock worth $131,065,542 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Broadcom from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Broadcom from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.48.

Broadcom Stock Performance

AVGO opened at $232.12 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $185.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.49. Broadcom Inc. has a 1 year low of $128.50 and a 1 year high of $251.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 189.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.04. 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 announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, April 7th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor manufacturer to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Broadcom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.46%.

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.