QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shot up 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $156.18 and last traded at $155.26. 1,041,910 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 2,917,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. TD Cowen raised shares of QUALCOMM to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. KeyCorp lowered shares of QUALCOMM from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $175.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.90 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 26.03%. Equities analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.09 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.82%.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In other news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 1,901 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,981,875.42. The trade was a 13.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 26,882 shares of company stock valued at $4,314,649 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,791 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.6% during the third quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 2,551 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in QUALCOMM by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is 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.