Benchmark Reaffirms Buy Rating for QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $240.00 target price on the wireless technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on QCOM. Citigroup cut their price objective on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, November 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QCOM opened at $167.96 on Friday. QUALCOMM has a 52 week low of $146.29 and a 52 week high of $230.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $162.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.62.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. Analysts predict that QUALCOMM will post 9.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is 36.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,570. This trade represents a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total value of $484,620.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,879,598.12. This trade represents a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,981 shares of company stock worth $4,000,870. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,841,103 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $284,708,000 after buying an additional 523,244 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,596 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after buying an additional 4,955 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth about $2,058,000. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 665.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 146,911 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $22,568,000 after buying an additional 127,722 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 354,389 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $60,264,000 after buying an additional 51,879 shares during the period. 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.