QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 0.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.42 and last traded at $171.24. Approximately 1,661,198 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,793,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QCOM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp lowered QUALCOMM from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.57.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

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 has a market capitalization of $192.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.04.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.25. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.03% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.90 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is 37.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 10,373 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.59, for a total value of $1,665,800.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,975.97. The trade was a 23.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,570. This represents a 93.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,882 shares of company stock worth $4,314,649. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 2nd quarter worth about $449,000. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 55,972 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $11,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 767,394 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $152,850,000 after buying an additional 44,618 shares in the last quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 1,820 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 6,045 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.