QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price traded up 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $173.49 and last traded at $171.74. 1,603,720 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 7,356,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on QCOM. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research assumed coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.57.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $192.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.25. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 26.03%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.90 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.16 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the general counsel now owns 19,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,121,130.68. This represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $202,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,570. The trade was a 93.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,882 shares of company stock worth $4,314,649. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.2% in the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,791 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management lifted its position in QUALCOMM by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 2,551 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 2,190 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during 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.