Argent Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Argent Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,928 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the quarter. QUALCOMM makes up about 1.0% of Argent Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $2,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. Amundi grew its stake in QUALCOMM by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,579,529 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,313,634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905,918 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter valued at $527,053,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in QUALCOMM by 1,702.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,191,342 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $542,688,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014,302 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,989,725 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in QUALCOMM by 202.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,061,900 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $350,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380,500 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $246,784.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,376.32. The trade was a 6.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total value of $509,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,716,927. This represents a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,968 shares of company stock worth $4,685,077 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QCOM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of QCOM opened at $157.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $174.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 12-month low of $149.43 and a 12-month high of $230.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.32%.

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.