Verity & Verity LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Verity & Verity LLC decreased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) by 33.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,276 shares of the wireless technology company's stock after selling 26,959 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in QUALCOMM were worth $9,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in QUALCOMM by 5.7% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,691 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $27,836,000 after purchasing an additional 8,788 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the third quarter worth approximately $422,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in QUALCOMM by 7.7% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 33,407 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $5,681,000 after acquiring an additional 2,375 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the third quarter worth approximately $352,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:QCOM traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $164.71. 6,169,124 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,003,038. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.28. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a 52-week low of $125.67 and a 52-week high of $230.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company's 50 day moving average price is $168.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.13.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 3,245 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.15, for a total transaction of $539,156.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,355,180.65. This represents a 9.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total transaction of $1,358,400.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 213,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,229,207.20. The trade was a 3.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,146 shares of company stock valued at $2,709,186 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of QUALCOMM from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of QUALCOMM from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $207.00 to $204.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.92.

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.