Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Cuts Stake in Qualcomm Incorporated $QCOM

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management cut its Qualcomm stake by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 28,743 shares and leaving it with 76,984 shares worth about $13.2 million.
• Qualcomm recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $2.65 EPS versus $2.56 expected, while revenue came in essentially in line at $10.60 billion.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.92 per share and authorized a $20 billion share buyback, signaling continued capital returns to shareholders.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,984 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after selling 28,743 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Qualcomm were worth $13,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Qualcomm during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Qualcomm by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Qualcomm during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its holdings in Qualcomm by 113.5% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 190 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Qualcomm during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

Qualcomm Price Performance

Shares of QCOM stock opened at $202.51 on Thursday. Qualcomm Incorporated has a 52-week low of $121.99 and a 52-week high of $247.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 24.23 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $151.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.10.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company earned $2.85 EPS. Qualcomm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.70%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on QCOM shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut Qualcomm from a "positive" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Qualcomm from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Qualcomm from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Craig Hallum upgraded Qualcomm to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $181.79.

Insider Transactions at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $569,024.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,065,677.70. The trade was a 7.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 197,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,562,240. This trade represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,477 shares of company stock valued at $3,268,316. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

About Qualcomm

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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