Essex Financial Services Inc. Purchases 1,464 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,569 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $1,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 137.3% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 197 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in QUALCOMM during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total transaction of $484,620.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,778 shares in the company, valued at $7,879,598.12. This represents a 5.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $202,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,570. The trade was a 93.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,268 shares of company stock valued at $7,276,381. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on QCOM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius started coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $171.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.53. The stock has a market cap of $190.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.25. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 1-year low of $148.41 and a 1-year high of $230.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. Research analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.19 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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 1.98%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 36.32%.

QUALCOMM Company 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.