QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price rose 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $158.32 and last traded at $157.73. Approximately 1,358,764 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 8,306,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius began coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on QUALCOMM from $207.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $177.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.23.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. On average, research analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QUALCOMM news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 10,373 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.59, for a total transaction of $1,665,800.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,975.97. This represents a 23.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,337 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.82, for a total transaction of $523,308.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 59,778 shares in the company, valued at $9,374,385.96. This represents a 5.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,045 shares of company stock worth $7,752,423 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its position in QUALCOMM by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,791 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in QUALCOMM by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in QUALCOMM by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,110 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.