QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 7.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) fell 7.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $142.47 and last traded at $142.60. 3,215,599 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 8,573,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research started coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 8.6 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. Equities analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 36.32%.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In related news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $246,784.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,762,376.32. The trade was a 6.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total transaction of $130,073.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,596.63. This represents a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,968 shares of company stock worth $4,685,077. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.