QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Down 0.7% Following Insider Selling

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price fell 0.7% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $162.65 and last traded at $164.25. 1,892,233 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 7,610,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.43.

Specifically, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total transaction of $130,073.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 461 shares in the company, valued at $80,596.63. The trade was a 61.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on QCOM. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.32%.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,841,103 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $284,708,000 after purchasing an additional 523,244 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,596 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at $2,058,000. Burney Co. increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 665.6% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 146,911 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $22,568,000 after purchasing an additional 127,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at $240,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by 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.