Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Position in Qualcomm Incorporated $QCOM

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments cut its Qualcomm stake by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 52,568 shares and leaving it with 319,879 shares valued at about $54.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors adjusted their positions as well, while 74.35% of Qualcomm’s stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Qualcomm beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.65 versus $2.56 expected, and it also raised its dividend to $0.92 per share from $0.89.

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its position in Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 319,879 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after selling 52,568 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC's holdings in Qualcomm were worth $54,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 8,285 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 11,338 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 184.9% in the fourth quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 926 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 9,006 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,540,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QCOM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore set a $179.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Qualcomm from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Qualcomm to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Qualcomm in a research note on Monday, March 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Qualcomm in a research note on Friday, May 8th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $181.79.

Qualcomm Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QCOM opened at $217.77 on Tuesday. Qualcomm Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $121.99 and a fifty-two week high of $259.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $229.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 1.59.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.09. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. Qualcomm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Qualcomm's payout ratio is 40.00%.

Qualcomm declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 17th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the wireless technology company to buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualcomm news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total transaction of $167,267.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 10,000 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 197,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,562,240. The trade was a 4.82% 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 19,306 shares of company stock worth $3,435,583 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated is a global semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 1985, the company is known for its development of wireless technologies and for playing a central role in the evolution of digital cellular standards, including CDMA and subsequent generations of mobile standards. Qualcomm’s business combines the design and sale of semiconductor products with a patent licensing program for wireless technologies and related intellectual property.

The company’s product portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) platforms marketed under the Snapdragon brand, cellular modem and RF front-end components, connectivity solutions for Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth, and processors and platforms aimed at automotive, IoT, networking and edge-computing applications.

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