Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $527.05 Million Position in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,430,887 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,053,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,615,929 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $8,777,289,000 after buying an additional 870,814 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,128,468 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,600,625,000 after buying an additional 1,989,725 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,670,451 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,485,575,000 after buying an additional 193,236 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,356,581 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,421,037,000 after buying an additional 498,284 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,832,693 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,213,023,000 after buying an additional 110,828 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QUALCOMM news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $409,056.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 19,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,121,130.68. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total transaction of $509,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,115 shares in the company, valued at $10,716,927. The trade was a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,045 shares of company stock worth $7,752,423 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $158.49 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $164.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.29. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 12 month low of $149.43 and a 12 month high of $230.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on QCOM shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, November 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.32.

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.