QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 1.6% Higher – Here’s Why

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) rose 1.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $171.92 and last traded at $169.95. Approximately 1,650,735 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,742,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on QCOM. Evercore ISI increased their price target on QUALCOMM from $190.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital started coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, November 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.57.

QUALCOMM Trading Up 1.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $189.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.90 billion. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.03% and a return on equity of 38.81%. On average, equities research analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.82%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,615,929 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $8,777,289,000 after buying an additional 870,814 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,128,468 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,600,625,000 after buying an additional 1,989,725 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,036,779 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,999,114,000 after buying an additional 86,195 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in QUALCOMM by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,356,581 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,421,037,000 after buying an additional 498,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in QUALCOMM by 30.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,506,863 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,250,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,432 shares during the last quarter. 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.