Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Position in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its stake in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,052 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $2,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 68.0% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 247 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 184.3% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 252,913 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 163,963 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on QCOM shares. Mizuho increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on QUALCOMM from $173.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

QUALCOMM Price Performance

Shares of QCOM stock traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $165.66. 7,140,396 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,523,626. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a twelve month low of $101.47 and a twelve month high of $177.59. The firm has a market cap of $184.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.56.

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

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. This is a boost from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

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.