Argent Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Argent Advisors Inc. grew its position in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,928 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the quarter. QUALCOMM comprises about 1.0% of Argent Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $2,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in QCOM. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the third quarter valued at $523,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 19,798 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $3,367,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in QUALCOMM in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,820,000. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 53,712 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $9,134,000 after buying an additional 16,430 shares during the period. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 1,396 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of QUALCOMM stock opened at $157.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $164.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.32. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 52 week low of $149.43 and a 52 week high of $230.63.

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 year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QCOM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Susquehanna reduced 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. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QUALCOMM news, 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 directly owns 59,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,374,385.96. This trade represents a 5.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $246,784.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,762,376.32. This represents a 6.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,968 shares of company stock valued at $4,685,077. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.