Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 114.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 45,029 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,073 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $6,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. Amundi increased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,579,529 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,313,634,000 after buying an additional 3,905,918 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth $527,053,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 7.9% in 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. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 202.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,061,900 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $350,626,000 after buying an additional 1,380,500 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.7% in 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 buying an additional 870,814 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In related news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 19,287 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 20,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,526,010.46. This represents a 48.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total value of $130,073.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 461 shares in the company, valued at $80,596.63. The trade was a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,968 shares of company stock worth $4,685,077. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM stock opened at $156.82 on Friday. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a one year low of $149.43 and a one year high of $230.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $164.51 and its 200 day moving average is $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $173.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. Sell-side analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QCOM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho decreased 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. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.32.

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.