QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $188.74.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on QCOM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus upped their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd.

QUALCOMM Stock Down 1.1 %

QCOM opened at $215.33 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $187.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.98. QUALCOMM has a one year low of $104.33 and a one year high of $218.36.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The wireless technology company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.11. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 23.03% and a return on equity of 37.09%. The firm had revenue of $9.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.32 billion. Equities research analysts expect that QUALCOMM will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This is an increase from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QUALCOMM news, Director Neil Smit sold 3,069 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.94, for a total value of $616,684.86. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,902 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,947.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Neil Smit sold 3,069 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.94, for a total transaction of $616,684.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,185,947.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.11, for a total transaction of $218,858.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 358 shares in the company, valued at $70,207.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,185 shares of company stock worth $8,206,875. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 1st quarter valued at $1,636,000. American Trust increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. American Trust now owns 3,330 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 618,415 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $104,036,000 after acquiring an additional 11,411 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 1st quarter valued at $698,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 1st quarter valued at $2,289,000. 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.