Broadcom Inc. $AVGO Holdings Cut by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp lowered its position in Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 149,583 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 15,034 shares during the quarter. Broadcom accounts for approximately 1.9% of First Merchants Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Broadcom were worth $51,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 185,276,987 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $51,071,601,000 after buying an additional 873,963 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Broadcom by 1.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 39,149,651 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $12,915,861,000 after buying an additional 700,021 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Broadcom by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 33,450,786 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $11,035,749,000 after acquiring an additional 748,709 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Broadcom by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 30,598,590 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $8,434,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Broadcom by 4.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,511,195 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $9,736,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,590 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Hock E. Tan sold 70,000 shares of Broadcom stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.30, for a total transaction of $24,311,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,133,942.80. The trade was a 34.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Charlie B. Kawwas sold 39,116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.61, for a total transaction of $12,580,096.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 74,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,000,467.86. The trade was a 34.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 403,049 shares of company stock worth $133,459,315. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Broadcom News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Broadcom this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI partnership: Broadcom struck a multiyear deal to co-develop custom AI accelerators, positioning AVGO as a strategic supplier for OpenAI and signaling material addressable revenue from bespoke AI silicon and related infrastructure. OpenAI Just Became Broadcom’s Newest Chip Customer
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades: Erste Group sharply raised estimates (FY2026 to ~$9.80 EPS and FY2027 to ~$16.55 EPS), implying much stronger earnings power than consensus and supporting a higher valuation if AI wins scale as expected.
• Positive Sentiment: Thesis reinforcement from market commentary: Multiple bullish write-ups highlight Broadcom’s expanding role across custom AI silicon, networking and software for hyperscalers — a structural growth story that investors view as durable despite recent volatility. Broadcom (AVGO) Powers the AI Boom — Bullish despite the Pullback
• Neutral Sentiment: Price-target / multi‑year outlook pieces: Analysts and retail sites are publishing 3‑year AVGO price predictions and scenario analyses reflecting both upside from AI exposure and risk from lofty multiples. Broadcom Stock Price Prediction: Where Will AVGO Be in 3 Years?
• Neutral Sentiment: Buy-the-dip narratives: Several outlets argue the ~24% pullback is a buying opportunity tied to the OpenAI deal and secular AI demand, but these are thesis-driven and hinge on execution. Is the 24% Dip a Golden Buying Opportunity?
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector context: Coverage noting that tech earnings have grown but some ETFs (and segments) lag share-price recovery, which can keep trading volatile for large-cap semiconductors like AVGO. As Tech Earnings Grow, This ETF Still Hasn’t Caught Up (AVGO)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Reports of insiders selling shares have raised near‑term sentiment concerns and may amplify downside during a broader pullback, even if strategic fundamentals remain intact. Broadcom Insiders Are Selling Stock. Is AVGO Finally at the End of the Road?

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVGO. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Broadcom from $370.00 to $340.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Broadcom from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Broadcom in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Mizuho set a $480.00 price target on Broadcom and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Broadcom from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.30.

Broadcom Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AVGO opened at $300.68 on Friday. Broadcom Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.10 and a 12-month high of $414.61. The company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 58.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $344.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.02. Broadcom had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 36.57%.The firm had revenue of $19.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Broadcom Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Broadcom Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Broadcom’s payout ratio is presently 50.78%.

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.