First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 4,878 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 28.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,248 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,878 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $3,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 33,437 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,836,000 after buying an additional 1,913 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 6,202 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,958 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM stock traded down $1.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $164.11. 13,056,198 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,535,057. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.41. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a twelve month low of $101.47 and a twelve month high of $177.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.75.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.50 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 21.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on QCOM shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI started coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on QUALCOMM from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total value of $520,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,030,317.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 8,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,875,850. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total value of $520,470.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,030,317.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,260 shares of company stock valued at $5,973,728. 0.08% of the stock is owned by 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.