Essential Planning LLC. Purchases New Shares in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 23,075 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,780,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in QUALCOMM by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,841,103 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $284,708,000 after buying an additional 523,244 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in QUALCOMM by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,596 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after buying an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth $2,058,000. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 665.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 146,911 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $22,568,000 after purchasing an additional 127,722 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on QCOM. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.32.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In related news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $246,784.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,376.32. This trade represents a 6.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.82, for a total transaction of $523,308.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 59,778 shares in the company, valued at $9,374,385.96. The trade was a 5.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,555 shares of company stock worth $5,094,134. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of QCOM stock opened at $152.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $169.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 1-year low of $149.43 and a 1-year high of $230.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.70.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is 36.32%.

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.