Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 846 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,664 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after selling 846 shares during the quarter. QUALCOMM makes up about 1.4% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $4,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in QUALCOMM in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in QUALCOMM during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in QUALCOMM by 137.3% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 197 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 177 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM stock opened at $160.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.40. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.67 and a fifty-two week high of $230.63. The company has a market capitalization of $178.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.10.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on QCOM shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $207.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen raised shares of QUALCOMM to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, QUALCOMM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In other QUALCOMM news, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total value of $1,358,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 213,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,229,207.20. This trade represents a 3.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 3,245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.15, for a total value of $539,156.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,355,180.65. This represents a 9.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,146 shares of company stock worth $2,709,186. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.