Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 3,298 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 933,427 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,298 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of QUALCOMM worth $143,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,721,882,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,579,529 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,313,634,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905,918 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth about $527,053,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,289,513 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,041,535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 525.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,413,495 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $217,141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $465,853.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,423,464.24. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $246,784.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,376.32. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,312 shares of company stock valued at $2,457,779 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

QUALCOMM Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $145.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $159.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.29. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 52 week low of $120.80 and a 52 week high of $230.63. The firm's fifty day moving average is $146.38 and its 200-day moving average is $157.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.62.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $10.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.58 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. QUALCOMM's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 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 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $179.00 to $157.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $192.08.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding QCOM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.