QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 0.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price shot up 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $159.12 and last traded at $158.76. 736,880 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 8,197,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $173.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28.

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 net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In other news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 19,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.83, for a total transaction of $3,275,511.21. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,762 shares in the company, valued at $3,526,010.46. The trade was a 48.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total value of $509,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,716,927. This trade represents a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,968 shares of company stock valued at $4,685,077 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.