QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 0.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) traded up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $157.06 and last traded at $156.58. 712,267 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 8,204,845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Melius Research assumed coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Melius assumed coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $174.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $246,784.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,393 shares in the company, valued at $3,762,376.32. The trade was a 6.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $130,073.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,596.63. This trade represents a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,968 shares of company stock valued at $4,685,077. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth $1,601,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth $224,000. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth $4,716,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth $343,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 870,595 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $133,741,000 after purchasing an additional 78,539 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.