QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 1.4%

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price was up 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $165.93 and last traded at $163.57. Approximately 1,593,751 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 8,510,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on QCOM shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $177.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $173.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.86.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $182.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.43. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 21.39% and a return on equity of 38.06%. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.50 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.38%.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total transaction of $520,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,030,317.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total transaction of $520,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,343 shares in the company, valued at $12,030,317.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 8,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,260 shares of company stock valued at $5,973,728 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,507,978,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 12,998.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,006,156 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $434,780,000 after acquiring an additional 2,983,206 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1,543.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,831,577 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $409,531,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,323 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 25,336,496 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $3,664,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,283,274 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $586,760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,868 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.