Sanford C. Bernstein Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) had its target price hoisted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the wireless technology company’s stock.

QCOM has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on QUALCOMM from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.16.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

QCOM stock traded down $2.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $170.91. 10,725,759 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,039,770. The company has a market capitalization of $190.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $168.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.15. QUALCOMM has a twelve month low of $119.85 and a twelve month high of $230.63.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.25. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.70% and a net margin of 26.03%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.90 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that QUALCOMM will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In other news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 1,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $313,779.06. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,981,875.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 1,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $313,779.06. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,981,875.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total transaction of $1,358,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 213,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,229,207.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,146 shares of company stock valued at $2,709,186. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,036,779 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,999,114,000 after purchasing an additional 86,195 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 30.2% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 1,741,432 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Capital Management Company LP bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,171,516,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,875,418 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $970,951,000 after buying an additional 173,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,312,400 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $563,274,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares in 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.