QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Price Target Increased to $172.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $158.00 to $172.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the wireless technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Benchmark began coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They set a buy rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on QUALCOMM from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded QUALCOMM from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.36.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

NASDAQ:QCOM traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $179.64. The stock had a trading volume of 10,043,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,171,053. QUALCOMM has a one year low of $101.47 and a one year high of $183.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $167.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.33.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.43. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 23.03% and a return on equity of 37.09%. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.50 billion. As a group, analysts expect that QUALCOMM will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total transaction of $55,586.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 689 shares in the company, valued at $103,232.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.39, for a total value of $1,275,120.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 269,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,018,245.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,232.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,260 shares of company stock worth $7,429,728. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank OH bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 3rd quarter valued at $629,000. Bank Hapoalim BM raised its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 35,423 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,192 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. boosted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 45,570 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $6,591,000 after buying an additional 2,818 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by 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.