QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Down 3.2% on Insider Selling

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) traded down 3.2% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $168.80 and last traded at $168.14. 2,766,949 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 7,481,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.70.

Specifically, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total value of $130,073.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 461 shares in the company, valued at $80,596.63. The trade was a 61.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, November 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $182.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several 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 worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 74.35% of the stock is 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.