Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 211,990 Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated $QCOM

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group cut its Qualcomm position by 32% in the second quarter, selling 211,990 shares and retaining 450,924 shares valued at approximately $83.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.35% of QCOM.
• Qualcomm shares recently traded at $176.40, up 1.3%. The company reported quarterly revenue of $9.95 billion but missed earnings expectations slightly, while revenue declined 4% year over year.
• Qualcomm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92, equivalent to a 2.1% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $204.10, although estimates range from bullish to neutral.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 32.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 450,924 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after selling 211,990 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Qualcomm were worth $83,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of QCOM. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 18,251.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 301,278,659 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $55,673,283,000 after buying an additional 299,636,973 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $17,583,115,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Qualcomm by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,897,079 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $4,931,968,000 after acquiring an additional 3,221,924 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Qualcomm by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,202,619 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $3,178,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,179,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Qualcomm by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,727,862 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,861,301,000 after acquiring an additional 4,290,622 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Qualcomm Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of QCOM stock opened at $176.40 on Thursday. Qualcomm Incorporated has a 12-month low of $121.99 and a 12-month high of $259.92. The company has a market capitalization of $185.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $168.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.69 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. Qualcomm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on QCOM. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $200.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Qualcomm from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim set a $200.00 price objective on Qualcomm in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $204.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.81, for a total transaction of $452,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,191,899.04. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Patricia Grech sold 625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.85, for a total transaction of $101,781.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,872.80. The trade was a 75.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,033 shares of company stock worth $1,467,844 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon deal creates a long-term growth catalyst: Qualcomm will develop multiple generations of custom AI data-center chips and optical networking products for Amazon Web Services. The agreement could generate as much as $60 billion in purchases through 2036, giving Qualcomm a marquee hyperscale customer and validating its data-center strategy. Qualcomm’s Data Center Bet Looks More Real After Amazon’s AI Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon has a financial stake in execution: Amazon received warrants to purchase up to 25 million QCOM shares at $161.26 each. Most warrants vest as AWS reaches purchasing milestones, linking Amazon’s potential ownership to actual demand for Qualcomm’s products.
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion goes beyond processors: Qualcomm will supply optical connectivity technology capable of supporting high-bandwidth data-center interconnects. The combination of custom inference silicon and networking products could increase Qualcomm’s role in Amazon’s AI infrastructure and support its target of $15 billion in annual data-center revenue by fiscal 2029. Qualcomm Announces Multi-Generational Product Collaboration with Amazon
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support reinforces the move: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its buy rating and set a $235 price target. Commentators said the Amazon relationship gives the previously range-bound stock a clearer growth narrative, while some investors believe QCOM’s valuation remains below that of other custom data-center chip suppliers.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue benefits are several quarters away: Qualcomm says the jointly developed processors are already in production, with initial revenue expected in fiscal first-quarter 2027. Investors will likely focus on shipment timing, AWS adoption and subsequent purchasing milestones.
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and dilution remain risks: The $60 billion purchasing potential spans a decade and is not guaranteed. Full vesting of the warrants could dilute existing shareholders by roughly 2.2%. Qualcomm also recently reported declining year-over-year revenue and a drop in handset processor sales, leaving the company exposed if data-center growth takes longer than expected.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated NASDAQ: QCOM is a technology company that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related intellectual property. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company serves customers and partners worldwide across the mobile, automotive, consumer electronics and industrial markets.

Through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) business, Qualcomm designs and supplies integrated circuits, system software and hardware platforms. Its products include Snapdragon mobile platforms, 5G and other wireless modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity solutions, processors and artificial intelligence technologies.

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