Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Raises Stock Position in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,504 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the period. QUALCOMM makes up 1.1% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $6,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,579,529 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,313,634,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905,918 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at $527,053,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 1,702.6% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,191,342 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $542,688,000 after buying an additional 3,014,302 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 7.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,128,468 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,600,625,000 after buying an additional 1,989,725 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius started coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM opened at $151.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.62. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 1 year low of $149.43 and a 1 year high of $230.63. The company has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.61.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Insider Activity

In other QUALCOMM news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 19,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.83, for a total transaction of $3,275,511.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,526,010.46. The trade was a 48.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,555 shares of company stock worth $5,094,134. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

QUALCOMM Company 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.