Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 85,605 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,749,394 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,605 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $253,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Peoples Bank OH acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Bank Hapoalim BM raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 35,423 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $5,123,000 after acquiring an additional 9,192 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in QUALCOMM by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 20,677 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 11,285 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its position in QUALCOMM by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 45,570 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $6,591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at $305,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In related news, Director Neil Smit sold 3,069 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.94, for a total transaction of $616,684.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,902 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,947.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other QUALCOMM news, Director Neil Smit sold 3,069 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.94, for a total transaction of $616,684.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,902 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,947.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 689 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.64, for a total transaction of $110,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,958 shares of company stock worth $12,039,527. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on QCOM shares. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.48.

QUALCOMM Stock Up 1.9 %

QCOM traded up $3.77 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $204.62. 3,526,659 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,556,687. The business’s 50 day moving average is $173.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.70. The stock has a market cap of $228.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $101.47 and a fifty-two week high of $204.76.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The wireless technology company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $9.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.32 billion. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 23.03% and a return on equity of 37.09%. As a group, equities analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.01%.

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.