Ninety One UK Ltd Purchases 153,011 Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated $QCOM

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its Qualcomm stake by 68.3%, buying an additional 153,011 shares to hold 377,093 shares worth roughly $64.5 million, as institutional investors now own about 74.35% of the stock.
• Qualcomm's board approved a $20.0 billion share buyback (up to ~14.5% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.92 ($3.68 annualized, ~2.7% yield), signaling confidence in cash flow.
• The company beat quarterly expectations with $3.50 EPS (vs. $3.38 est.) and guided Q2 to $2.45–$2.65 EPS, but analyst sentiment is mixed—MarketBeat shows an average "Hold" rating and a ~$159.91 price target after recent downgrades and upgrades.

Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 68.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 377,093 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 153,011 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in Qualcomm were worth $64,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 858 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its stake in Qualcomm by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Qualcomm by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 8,319 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its stake in Qualcomm by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 14,397 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,463,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Qualcomm by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,693 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

Qualcomm Price Performance

NASDAQ QCOM opened at $136.20 on Friday. Qualcomm Incorporated has a 52 week low of $121.99 and a 52 week high of $205.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $134.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.47.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.16 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 44.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm's payout ratio is currently 73.55%.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In related news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $438,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.34, for a total transaction of $325,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,999,352.56. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,118 shares of company stock valued at $1,233,705 over the last three months. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories 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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on QCOM shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Qualcomm to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Qualcomm from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $185.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $185.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Qualcomm from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.91.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.