EP Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,565 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,604 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $15,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at $2,721,882,000. Amundi grew its position in QUALCOMM by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,579,529 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,313,634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905,918 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth about $527,053,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,289,513 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,041,535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493,076 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 525.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,413,495 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $217,141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,531 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $145.30. 6,214,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,897,734. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $146.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.55. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a twelve month low of $120.80 and a twelve month high of $230.63. The company has a market cap of $159.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.29.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.03. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. The firm had revenue of $10.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This is a boost from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total value of $130,073.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 461 shares in the company, valued at $80,596.63. The trade was a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.10, for a total value of $35,265.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,568,140.80. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,599 shares of company stock worth $5,733,290. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $250.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on QUALCOMM from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded QUALCOMM from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $192.08.

QUALCOMM Profile

QUALCOMM Incorporated engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia, and position location products.