QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Up 0.2% After Analyst Upgrade

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) rose 0.2% on Wednesday after Argus raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $205.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. QUALCOMM traded as high as $180.71 and last traded at $180.56. Approximately 2,194,854 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 8,650,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.15.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $177.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on QUALCOMM from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on QUALCOMM from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total transaction of $55,586.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 689 shares in the company, valued at $103,232.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other QUALCOMM news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total transaction of $55,586.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,232.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $1,456,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 253,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,208,526. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,316 shares of company stock valued at $7,796,128 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in QUALCOMM by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,717,388 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $12,296,273,000 after purchasing an additional 483,390 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 25,336,496 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $3,664,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909,025 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,767,489 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,306,438,000 after purchasing an additional 438,660 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,507,978,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in QUALCOMM by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,291,482 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,365,092,000 after purchasing an additional 415,398 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market cap of $200.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.33.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 43.01%.

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.