Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 535 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,235 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after selling 535 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $17,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in QUALCOMM in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QUALCOMM news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.74, for a total transaction of $220,384.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,139,507.82. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.10, for a total value of $486,951.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 49,779 shares in the company, valued at $7,272,711.90. This trade represents a 6.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 423,464 shares of company stock valued at $8,135,164 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of QUALCOMM stock opened at $158.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $174.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.17. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 1 year low of $120.80 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.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.58 billion. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is 36.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on QCOM. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on QUALCOMM from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $240.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded QUALCOMM to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.88.

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.