QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price fell 1.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $153.56 and last traded at $155.57. 2,449,990 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 8,198,986 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on QCOM. Barclays dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Melius Research initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Melius initiated 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Down 0.6 %

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 fifty day simple moving average of $164.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 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, equities analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other QUALCOMM news, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 $80,596.63. This represents a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 19,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.83, for a total value of $3,275,511.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,526,010.46. The trade was a 48.16 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CKW Financial Group bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.