If you can't select them by click, they may be locked (a component property: open the component dialog somehow and untick "lock strings").
If you *really* need to brute-force things, use a query to select them (e.g., IsDesignator AND (Name Like 'R*') ), then M,S (move selection). Or find the components in the List panel, pop over to the Inspector panel, and click the underlined Designator label, then click back in the work area and M,S.
Beware, you can select primitives
inside footprints this way, by using queries -- you only get a "are you sure you want to move locked objects?" dialog. You can do some really freaky things if you move components AND their primitives at the same time -- the primitives get moved double! If you screw up footprints like this, and don't realize it right away... just update footprints from libraries, easier to just start over with them.
Tim