QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 0.7% – Here’s Why

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price shot up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $159.40 and last traded at $159.36. 2,839,592 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 8,968,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on QCOM shares. Melius assumed coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Loop Capital started coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, November 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.00.

QUALCOMM Price 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 stock has a market cap of $176.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $162.39 and its 200-day moving average is $174.82.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.25. The business 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.09 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.95, for a total transaction of $497,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,535,970.15. This represents a 5.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,127 shares of company stock valued at $6,710,055 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. State Street Corp raised its stake in QUALCOMM by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,615,929 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $8,777,289,000 after acquiring an additional 870,814 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 7.9% during the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,036,779 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,999,114,000 after purchasing an additional 86,195 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 6.3% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 498,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,506,863 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,250,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,432 shares during the period. 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.