QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $205.32.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on QCOM. StockNews.com raised shares of QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $207.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, November 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM stock opened at $161.10 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $164.52 and its 200 day moving average is $165.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25. QUALCOMM has a 12 month low of $149.43 and a 12 month high of $230.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.99 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders 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 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Insider Activity

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total transaction of $509,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,716,927. This trade represents a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total value of $130,073.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,596.63. This represents a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,708 shares of company stock worth $7,713,734 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth about $2,721,882,000. Amundi increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,579,529 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,313,634,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905,918 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth about $527,053,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1,702.6% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,191,342 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $542,688,000 after buying an additional 3,014,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in QUALCOMM by 17,357.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,310 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $499,320,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.