QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stake Boosted by Loudon Investment Management LLC

Loudon Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,767 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. QUALCOMM comprises approximately 3.7% of Loudon Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $6,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 535.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 235,703 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $34,090,000 after buying an additional 198,627 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its position in QUALCOMM by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 28,492 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in QUALCOMM by 899.1% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 475,064 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $68,709,000 after acquiring an additional 427,516 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 790,750 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $114,365,000 after purchasing an additional 63,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,234 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $3,794,000 after purchasing an additional 12,738 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC boosted their target price on QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.36.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM traded up $15.99 during trading on Thursday, hitting $180.10. 25,880,542 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,740,455. The company has a market capitalization of $200.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.33. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $101.47 and a 1-year high of $181.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.87.

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

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is a boost from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of QUALCOMM 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,030,317.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,232.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total transaction of $520,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,030,317.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,260 shares of company stock valued at $5,973,728 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.