Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Position in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,710,120 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after selling 37,688 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $262,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,730,186 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $17,471,231,000 after purchasing an additional 707,468 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,615,929 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $8,777,289,000 after buying an additional 870,814 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,128,468 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,600,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,725 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,905,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,670,451 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,485,575,000 after acquiring an additional 193,236 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total transaction of $130,073.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,596.63. This trade represents a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 19,287 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.83, for a total value of $3,275,511.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,968 shares of company stock worth $4,685,077 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $156.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.97. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 52-week low of $149.43 and a 52-week high of $230.63.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid 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 2.17%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QCOM has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently 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.