Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Trims Holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its position in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,523 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after selling 1,456 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $10,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the first quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

Shares of QCOM stock opened at $159.13 on Wednesday. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 1-year low of $120.80 and a 1-year high of $230.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $144.03 and its 200 day moving average is $155.14. The company has a market cap of $174.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.03. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. The company had revenue of $10.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 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 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This is an increase from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.10, for a total value of $35,265.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,568,140.80. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.74, for a total value of $220,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,139,507.82. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 423,464 shares of company stock valued at $8,135,164. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna lowered their price target on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.88.

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.