Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 12,738 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 94.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,234 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,738 shares during the quarter. QUALCOMM comprises about 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $3,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 102.5% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 241 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 68.0% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 247 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In other QUALCOMM news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,232.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,232.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.39, for a total value of $1,275,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 269,893 shares in the company, valued at $43,018,245.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,260 shares of company stock valued at $5,973,728. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM traded up $15.65 during trading on Thursday, hitting $179.76. The stock had a trading volume of 18,024,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,640,350. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 12-month low of $101.47 and a 12-month high of $181.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.87.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.50 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 21.39%. On average, equities research analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on QCOM shares. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on QUALCOMM from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.23.

About QUALCOMM

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.