QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on QCOM. Susquehanna reduced their price target on QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius began coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

Shares of QUALCOMM stock opened at $156.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $173.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $164.68 and a 200 day moving average of $164.52. QUALCOMM has a 52 week low of $149.43 and a 52 week high of $230.63.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts forecast that QUALCOMM will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.32%.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In other QUALCOMM news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 19,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.83, for a total transaction of $3,275,511.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,762 shares in the company, valued at $3,526,010.46. This trade represents a 48.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the general counsel now owns 19,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,121,130.68. This represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,555 shares of company stock valued at $5,094,134. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,759,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $928,000. IronOak Wealth LLC. purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,330 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. 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.