Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $2.44 Million Holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 65.6%, acquiring an additional 6,294 shares, bringing their total to 15,891 shares valued at approximately $2.44 million.
• Insider activity included CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala selling 3,333 shares at an average price of $161.28, reducing his ownership by 6.70%, while major shareholder Qualcomm Inc./de sold 412,500 shares valued at $6.6 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on QUALCOMM's stock, with a range of target prices and ratings, including 1 sell, 12 holds, and 13 buy ratings, indicating a generally cautious outlook.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 65.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,891 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,294 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $2,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in QCOM. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 70.0% during the 1st quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on QCOM shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $181.91.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In other news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.40, for a total transaction of $234,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,102,655.20. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.28, for a total transaction of $537,546.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 46,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,490,810.88. This trade represents a 6.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 424,099 shares of company stock valued at $8,324,591 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

QUALCOMM Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of QCOM stock traded up $1.43 on Friday, hitting $148.19. The company had a trading volume of 12,700,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,744,643. The firm has a market cap of $159.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day moving average is $155.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 3.19. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a twelve month low of $120.80 and a twelve month high of $182.10.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.06. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 40.35% and a net margin of 26.77%. The business had revenue of $10.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

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.