Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 6,591 Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 40.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,889 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,591 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $3,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the second quarter worth $30,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 137.3% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 197 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on QCOM shares. KeyCorp cut shares of QUALCOMM from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $409,056.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 19,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,121,130.68. This represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 10,373 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.59, for a total value of $1,665,800.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,383 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,975.97. This represents a 23.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,882 shares of company stock valued at $4,314,649. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

QUALCOMM Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $164.56 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $158.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.40. The company has a market capitalization of $182.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.25. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 52 week low of $139.26 and a 52 week high of $230.63.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.90 billion. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.03% and a return on equity of 38.81%. Analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.09 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm 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 2.07%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

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.