Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 156,303 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,007,957 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,303 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of QUALCOMM worth $146,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 102.5% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 241 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 68.0% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 247 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its position 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 163,963 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QCOM traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $165.66. The stock had a trading volume of 7,141,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,691,146. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a twelve month low of $101.47 and a twelve month high of $177.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.41.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 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 business had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.50 billion. On average, analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. This is an increase from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 46.38%.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total transaction of $55,586.93. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total transaction of $520,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,343 shares in the company, valued at $12,030,317.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total transaction of $55,586.93. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 689 shares in the company, valued at $103,232.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,260 shares of company stock valued at $5,973,728 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QCOM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $173.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.86.

QUALCOMM Company 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.