Qualcomm Incorporated $QCOM Stock: VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Cuts Holdings

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems reduced its Qualcomm stake by 64.8% in the third quarter, selling 83,200 shares and retaining 45,179 shares valued at approximately $8.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.35% of QCOM.
• Analysts remain mixed, with Qualcomm receiving a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $205.83. Recent targets ranged from $159 to $200, while Wells Fargo cut its target to $170.
• Qualcomm reported quarterly revenue of $9.95 billion, above estimates, but earnings of $2.21 per share narrowly missed expectations and revenue declined 4% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, implying a 2.2% yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al cut its stake in shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,179 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after selling 83,200 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in Qualcomm were worth $8,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. ABS Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in Qualcomm in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Qualcomm by 191.7% during the 2nd quarter. Burk Holdings LLC now owns 210 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on QCOM shares. HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore set a $159.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Qualcomm to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Oppenheimer set a $200.00 price target on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $265.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $205.83.

Qualcomm Price Performance

NASDAQ QCOM opened at $164.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.65. Qualcomm Incorporated has a 12-month low of $121.99 and a 12-month high of $259.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Heather Ace sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total transaction of $470,528.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,372,106.40. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.85, for a total value of $457,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,184 shares in the company, valued at $3,324,944.40. This trade represents a 12.09% decrease in their position. 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 33,458 shares of company stock valued at $6,198,144 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated is a technology company that develops and commercializes wireless communications and semiconductor technologies. Through Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, the company designs integrated circuits, system software and related platforms used in smartphones, personal computers, automobiles, industrial equipment, consumer devices and other connected products. Its Snapdragon platforms support mobile computing, connectivity, artificial intelligence and multimedia applications, while its broader portfolio includes radio-frequency systems, networking and edge-computing technologies.

Qualcomm also operates a significant technology-licensing business through its Qualcomm Technology Licensing segment.

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.