QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 1.2% – What’s Next?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price was up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $167.36 and last traded at $166.47. Approximately 1,483,714 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 6,671,781 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Melius Research initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of QUALCOMM from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.57.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $158.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.25.

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

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In other QUALCOMM news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 1,901 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,981,875.42. This trade represents a 13.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total transaction of $484,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,778 shares in the company, valued at $7,879,598.12. This trade represents a 5.79 % 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 quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in QUALCOMM by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,615,929 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $8,777,289,000 after acquiring an additional 870,814 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 7.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,128,468 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,600,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,725 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in QUALCOMM by 6.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake 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 worth $1,250,644,000 after buying an additional 1,741,432 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.