QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 3.2% – Here’s Why

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares dropped 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $168.80 and last traded at $168.14. Approximately 2,766,949 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 7,481,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QCOM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Melius began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 4.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.67. The company has a market capitalization of $183.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 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 the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. Sell-side analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QUALCOMM news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 10,373 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.59, for a total value of $1,665,800.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,975.97. The trade was a 23.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total value of $509,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,716,927. This represents a 4.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,964 shares of company stock valued at $7,583,661. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.