First Merchants Corp Sells 11,632 Shares of Broadcom Inc. $AVGO

First Merchants Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,951 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 11,632 shares during the quarter. Broadcom makes up approximately 1.6% of First Merchants Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $42,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AVGO. RFG Holdings Inc. grew its position in Broadcom by 0.3% in the first quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. now owns 8,499 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Baring Financial LLC lifted its position in Broadcom by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Baring Financial LLC now owns 1,359 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 8,191 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,835,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Solitude Financial Services boosted its stake in shares of Broadcom by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 5,728 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,773,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,168 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 76.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Broadcom

In related news, insider S. Ram Velaga sold 17,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.12, for a total transaction of $6,077,591.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 65,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,215,975.84. This trade represents a 20.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.23, for a total value of $3,452,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 787,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $271,759,532.32. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 59,385 shares of company stock worth $21,301,057 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Broadcom Trading Down 3.1%

AVGO stock opened at $380.15 on Wednesday. Broadcom Inc. has a 52 week low of $258.77 and a 52 week high of $495.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $412.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $363.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 63.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.41. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $2.44 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $22.13 billion. Broadcom had a return on equity of 41.61% and a net margin of 38.85%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadcom Inc. will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVGO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Broadcom from $545.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective (up from $500.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Broadcom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Broadcom in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $582.00 price target on shares of Broadcom in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Broadcom has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.24.

Key Broadcom News

Here are the key news stories impacting Broadcom this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broadcom’s AI business remains a major strength, with reports highlighting record semiconductor sales, strong bookings, and customer commitments tied to hyperscaler demand for custom AI chips and networking. Broadcom’s AI Push Boosts Semiconductor Sales: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan and other bullish commentary suggested the recent dip could be a buying opportunity, citing Broadcom’s locked-in AI chip partnership with Google through 2031 and expanding AI platform initiatives. Ignore the noise: Top bank says AVGO stock dip is a buying opportunity, points to locked-in Broadcom–Google AI chip deal through 2031
• Neutral Sentiment: Broadcom continues to draw investor attention thanks to its AI XPV platform and custom XPUs, which could support future AI compute demand, but this is more of a long-term growth story than a near-term stock catalyst. How Broadcom’s (AVGO) AI XPV Platform Ties Its Custom XPUs to the Next Wave of AI Compute Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings comparisons showed Broadcom still performing well versus peers, but this appears to be more of a recap of already-known quarterly strength than a new catalyst. A look back at processors and graphics chips stocks’ Q1 earnings: Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) vs the rest of the pack
• Negative Sentiment: A Barron’s report said Broadcom fell along with other chip stocks in a broader tech selloff, suggesting the stock is being hit by sector-wide risk aversion rather than company-specific weakness. Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom Fall as Tech Selloff Catches Up With Chips
• Negative Sentiment: Broadcom also faced a rating downgrade from Wall Street Zen and a Seeking Alpha note warning that its infrastructure exposure and leverage could create risk despite strong AI momentum. Broadcom: $2 Trillion AI Debt Engine Meets High Infrastructural Risk (Rating Downgrade)

About Broadcom

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.