QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 140,900 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. QUALCOMM comprises 0.4% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $21,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of QCOM. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,615,929 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $8,777,289,000 after purchasing an additional 870,814 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in QUALCOMM by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,128,468 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,600,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,725 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in QUALCOMM by 6.3% during 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 worth $1,421,037,000 after purchasing an additional 498,284 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,506,863 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,250,644,000 after buying an additional 1,741,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QCOM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $202,120.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,570. The trade was a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $409,056.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 19,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,121,130.68. The trade was a 11.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,268 shares of company stock valued at $7,276,381. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

QUALCOMM Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ QCOM opened at $171.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $190.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 12-month low of $148.41 and a 12-month high of $230.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $162.31 and a 200 day moving average of $165.53.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted 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 net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.32%.

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.