QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 0.8%

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $166.68 and last traded at $167.29. Approximately 1,064,953 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 8,509,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QCOM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Citigroup lowered shares of QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.90.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.56. The company has a market capitalization of $178.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.33.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.43. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 21.39% and a return on equity of 38.06%. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.50 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. This is a boost from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total value of $520,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares in the company, valued at $12,030,317.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total transaction of $520,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares in the company, valued at $12,030,317.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.27, for a total transaction of $1,346,160.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 261,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,068,735.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,260 shares of company stock worth $5,973,728. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 36.8% during the third quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 157,900 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $17,536,000 after purchasing an additional 42,500 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank OH acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM in the third quarter valued at $629,000. Bank Hapoalim BM increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 35,423 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 20,677 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 11,285 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Company Profile

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.