QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $175.86, but opened at $167.84. QUALCOMM shares last traded at $167.75, with a volume of 2,719,301 shares traded.

The wireless technology company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 26.03%.

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 $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $207.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, November 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.04.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In other news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total value of $484,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,879,598.12. This represents a 5.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $409,056.44. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 19,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,121,130.68. The trade was a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,981 shares of company stock worth $4,000,870. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,841,103 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $284,708,000 after buying an additional 523,244 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised 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 acquiring an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth about $2,058,000. Burney Co. grew its holdings in QUALCOMM by 665.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 146,911 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $22,568,000 after acquiring an additional 127,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in QUALCOMM by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 354,389 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $60,264,000 after purchasing an additional 51,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $161.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.02. The firm has a market cap of $187.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.40.

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.