QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 1.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price was up 1.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $157.51 and last traded at $156.20. Approximately 943,700 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 8,909,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on QCOM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on QUALCOMM from $190.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen raised QUALCOMM to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.00.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $161.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.25. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.03% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.90 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.09 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 1,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $313,779.06. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,981,875.42. This trade represents a 13.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 94 shares in the company, valued at $14,570. This represents a 93.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,882 shares of company stock worth $4,314,649 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in QUALCOMM by 137.3% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 197 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new position in QUALCOMM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 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.