Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 9,206 Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated $QCOM

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Qualcomm by 16.5% in Q4, buying an additional 9,206 shares to hold 65,153 shares valued at about $11.145 million.
• Qualcomm’s board boosted the quarterly dividend to $0.92 and authorized a $20 billion share buyback (about 14.5% of outstanding shares), signaling strong shareholder-return priorities.
• Market sentiment is mixed: the consensus analyst rating is "Hold" with a $159.91 average price target, but notable downgrades (JPMorgan to Neutral, PT cut to $140) and recent insider stock sales have added near-term pressure.

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,153 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,206 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Qualcomm were worth $11,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 116.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,356 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 9,343 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 44.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 6.1% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 5,778 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 9.7% during the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.92 per share (record June 4, payable June 25), which supports income investors and signals confidence in cash flow. Qualcomm Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm expanded its XR/mobile AI footprint with a multi‑year deal to supply Snapdragon XR processors to Snap’s Specs unit — strengthens QCOM’s positioning in AI wearables and adjacent compute markets. Qualcomm (QCOM) Makes A Strategic Bet That Could Matter More Than It Seems
• Positive Sentiment: Management is deepening automotive ambitions (direct investment in Wayve; expanded Bosch collaboration) to supply vehicle compute/ADAS platforms — a structural growth avenue beyond smartphones. Qualcomm’s Automotive Push Adds New Layer To QCOM Investment Story
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts/investors view QCOM as attractively valued relative to fast‑rising peers, arguing the selloff creates a buying opportunity if mobile recovery and new verticals gain traction. Qualcomm: Rare Value In An Otherwise Inflated Sector
• Neutral Sentiment: Balanced bull/bear price‑case pieces highlight that upside depends on handset cycles, RF demand and execution in automotive/AI, so short‑term moves may be volatile. Qualcomm Stock Price Prediction: Bull and Bear Case
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term thesis is mixed in market commentary — some outlets praise positioning while warning industry headwinds could cap near‑term growth. Could Qualcomm Stock be One of the Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Today?
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut QCOM from Overweight to Neutral, placed it on a negative‑catalyst watch and slashed the price target (cites smartphone/visibility concerns) — a high‑profile downgrade that can pressure sentiment and multiple compression. JPMorgan Downgrades Qualcomm and Puts It on Negative Watch: Is the Smartphone Giant’s Best Days Behind It?
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and relative underperformance versus peers (QCOM roughly flat over 12 months while peers rallied) keep selling pressure and raise execution expectations. Qualcomm: Rare Value In An Otherwise Inflated Sector

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on QCOM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Qualcomm from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $157.00 to $134.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $177.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Qualcomm from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Qualcomm from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $438,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.34, for a total value of $325,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,999,352.56. This represents a 7.53% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,118 shares of company stock worth $1,233,705. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Qualcomm Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of QCOM opened at $136.20 on Friday. Qualcomm Incorporated has a one year low of $121.99 and a one year high of $205.95. The company has a market cap of $145.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.47.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.16 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 44.09%. The company's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.41 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.55%.

Qualcomm announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 17th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the wireless technology company to buy up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Qualcomm 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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