QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 1.6% – Here’s Why

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price was up 1.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $137.20 and last traded at $129.50. Approximately 4,710,300 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 8,669,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho cut their target price on QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Up 1.8 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $143.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28.

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

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $246,784.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,393 shares in the company, valued at $3,762,376.32. This represents a 6.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total transaction of $130,073.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,596.63. This trade represents a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,968 shares of company stock worth $4,685,077. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in QUALCOMM by 20,700.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,262,754 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $501,192,000 after purchasing an additional 3,247,068 shares in the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,074 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.8% in the first quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 17,196 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,642,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 17,887 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,748,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 13,493 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Company Profile

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.