QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.4% – Should You Buy?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $176.48 and last traded at $176.01. 1,768,067 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 7,517,440 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on QCOM shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.54. The stock has a market cap of $193.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 48,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,879,598.12. This trade represents a 5.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,570. This represents a 93.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,268 shares of company stock valued at $7,785,781 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at $2,721,882,000. Amundi grew its position in QUALCOMM by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,579,529 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,313,634,000 after buying an additional 3,905,918 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at about $527,053,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 1,702.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,191,342 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $542,688,000 after buying an additional 3,014,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 17,357.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,310 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $499,320,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,490 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.