Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 6,226 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 9.5% during the first quarter, owning a total of 72,028 shares valued at approximately $11.06 million.
• Several research firms recently adjusted their price targets for QUALCOMM, with estimates ranging from $140 to $225, while an average rating of "Hold" has been assigned to the stock.
• QUALCOMM reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, with earnings per share of $2.85 and revenue of $10.98 billion, marking a 17% increase compared to the previous year.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,028 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,226 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $11,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,832 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 122,943 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $18,885,000 after buying an additional 7,976 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 40,825 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $6,271,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,640 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on QCOM. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $240.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $179.00 to $157.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $184.86.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

QCOM stock opened at $158.40 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $154.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.03. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 12-month low of $120.80 and a 12-month high of $182.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.03. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.11% and a return on equity of 40.11%. The firm had revenue of $10.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. QUALCOMM's payout ratio is 36.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.74, for a total transaction of $220,384.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,139,507.82. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Inc/De Qualcomm sold 412,500 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $6,600,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 424,099 shares of company stock valued at $8,310,735. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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.

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