QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $171.92 and last traded at $169.95. Approximately 1,650,735 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,742,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QCOM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on QUALCOMM from $190.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Melius Research assumed coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.57.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $191.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $159.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.08.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.90 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 26.03%. Analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 94 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,570. This represents a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $409,056.44. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 19,739 shares in the company, valued at $3,121,130.68. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,882 shares of company stock worth $4,314,649. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 2.2% during the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,791 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management boosted 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 valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 2,190 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.