Vicus Capital Boosts Stake in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Vicus Capital raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,832 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 1,702.6% in 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 17,357.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,310 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $499,320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919,490 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $4,600,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,725 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 30.2% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 1,741,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $350,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, November 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

QCOM opened at $172.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $190.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.50. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.90 and a fifty-two week high of $230.63.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its 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, equities analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Insider Activity

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total transaction of $509,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,115 shares in the company, valued at $10,716,927. This trade represents a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 94 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,570. This trade represents a 93.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,268 shares of company stock worth $7,785,781 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.