Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Position in Broadcom Inc. $AVGO

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,943,655 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 567,540 shares during the period. Broadcom comprises about 2.4% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.61% of Broadcom worth $10,017,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVGO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Broadcom in the fourth quarter worth about $24,252,196,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 499.4% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,634,232 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,858,789,000 after purchasing an additional 4,694,313 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 482,707,302 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $167,064,997,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919,715 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,814,757 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,406,211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,160,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Broadcom in the third quarter worth about $987,488,000. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Broadcom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.13.

Broadcom Stock Performance

AVGO stock opened at $372.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.02, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $401.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $362.87. Broadcom Inc. has a one year low of $243.80 and a one year high of $495.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.13 billion. Broadcom had a net margin of 38.85% and a return on equity of 41.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 47.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. Broadcom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.33%.

More Broadcom News

Here are the key news stories impacting Broadcom this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators argue the pullback is overdone, pointing to Broadcom’s strong fundamentals: revenue growth of about 48%, AI semiconductor revenue up 143%, and more than $30 billion in AI bookings. Bullish pieces say the stock looks attractive on cash flow and long-term AI demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broadcom also gained support from a major AI infrastructure tie-up with Apollo Global Management and Blackstone, which are backing a $35 billion capacity expansion for Anthropic using Broadcom’s custom chips and networking gear. That reinforces the company’s role in the AI buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on the stock over the long term, citing expected EPS growth of more than 50% over the next five years and multiple recent upgrades/price-target increases. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Other coverage highlights a “buy the dip” case after the post-earnings reset, with investors watching whether AI demand and margins stay strong enough to justify the premium valuation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The main headwind is that Broadcom’s stock has been hit by a broader chip rotation/correction, with semiconductor names sold off as investors take profits from the AI trade. Broadcom has been singled out as one of the biggest laggards in that move. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also worried that Broadcom’s premium valuation leaves little room for error after its strong quarter, especially as guidance for AI revenue was viewed as less aggressive than hoped. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: New commentary from Broadcom’s CEO that the company will focus only on chips, not a broader AI platform strategy, appears to have unnerved some AI-focused investors and added to the selloff. Article Title

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 39,116 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.61, for a total value of $12,580,096.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,000,467.86. This trade represents a 34.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kirsten M. Spears sold 36,292 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.60, for a total transaction of $11,671,507.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 327,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,407,616. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 324,282 shares of company stock valued at $106,425,249. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Company Profile

Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO) is a global technology company that designs, develops and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions for a broad range of markets. The company’s semiconductor business provides components and systems for wired and wireless communications, enterprise and cloud storage, networking and broadband access, serving original equipment manufacturers, cloud service providers, telecommunications carriers and industrial customers worldwide. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, California, and operates globally with research, development and sales organizations across North America, Europe and Asia.

On the semiconductor side, Broadcom’s portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions, radio-frequency and connectivity components, Ethernet switching and PHY devices, storage adapters and controllers, optical transceivers and other networking silicon.